Family Man
by DarkAngel942
Summary: Bonnie, Elena, Damon and Stefan return to Fell's Church to find it in ruins. Witches have arrived in Fell's Church as they suspect one of their own has done the town damage, but Damon meets a boy that'll change his life forever... his son. ON SHORT HIATUS
1. Going Back Home

**Set after The Return: Nightfall. **

**Its very hard to write this story as nobody but L.J Smith knows what happens in the next book, but hopefully you'll all follow on.**

**Everyone returns to Fell's Church after they save Stefan. Rated T because...well I don't actually know! Cause all the rest of my stories are T? I'm not sure.**

The town was in pieces.

Damon- who was driving his Ferrari that held Stefan, Bonnie and Elena- could see the damage from a long way away. Stefan would have been able to aswell, but he was asleep in the back seat. They hadn't allowed him much rest where he had been locked up in, so he was absolutely exhausted. His head was in Elena's lap, and she was stroking his hair off of his face, looking down at him.

Bonnie was in the passenger seat, fidgeting nervously at being so close to Damon. He was smirking at her expression when he had noticed the blackened town. Damon was stunned. He didn't exactly care that the town was gone, but Elena would. Stefan would throw a hissy and go all hero-ey on everyone by trying to find the culprit. But Damon knew the person who did this was powerful and very, very cunning.

The car drove close enough to the town for Bonnie to spot it. She gasped, and started crying. Elena looked up from Stefan to stare at her worriedly.

"Bonnie, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

The ginger maiden stuttered- her eyes staring ahead at the town.

"Th-th-the town!" she managed to stutter out.

Elena looked ahead, and her eyes became shocked. Damon- out of the corner of his eye- saw her hand move back behind her to shake awake Stefan.

His eyes fluttered open.

"Wh-what?"

"The town," Elena said, her eyes filling with tears.

Damon heard Stefan sit up and sigh- and could tell he was running a hand through his hair. He looked over Damon's shoulder to see what all the fuss was about. His face paled.

Throughout this time, they had gotten closer and closer to the town, and the devastation was extremely horrible. Most of the houses were blackened- possibly through fire- and even the trees looked dark and gloomy. There were stray, wrecked cars dotted in places- and pieces of metal, tyres, and even glass from the windows were scattered all over the streets.

The car skidded to a stop beside one of the worst ruined houses. The windows were shattered, the curtains in tatters, with the insides of the house covered with pieces of wood and glass. Dirt everywhere.

Elena's house.

Damon heard Elena gasp, and burst into tears with her hands covering her face. Stefan was a bit too stunned to comfort her yet- and Bonnie was the same. Her hands covered her mouth too, but she wasn't crying like Elena. Hmm- Damon thought- the little redhead is braver than I thought.

Elena shakily reached for the door handle- but Stefan got over his initial shock and caught her wrist in his right hand.

"Elena, it might not be safe," he said to her, his bright green eyes pleading with her to stay in the car.

"It's my house, Stefan. Margaret and Aunt Judith-" she broke down into sobs again, but managed to finish; "I need to find out what happened to them."

"Let me go out first," Stefan pleaded, but Elena was already shaking her head before he'd even finished- her eyes dropping tears onto the back seat. "Please, Elena. I'll only be a few seconds."

She looked up at him. Damon thought she wouldn't reply, but eventually she muttered: "Yes."

But as Stefan was reaching for the door handle- she spoke up again, reaching for his hand and taking it in her own. Stefan looked back at her.

"But let Damon go with you- you're still weak."

Damon looked round- not liking the way her tone was so ordering. Nobody ordered him around. But the second he saw her face the angry thoughts faded a little. His Queen of Darkness was upset, traumatized, and scared for her family's safety. Her eyes were so filled with tears that whenever she blinked, fresh ones poured down her cheeks.

"Please, Damon," she begged.

Damon stared at her, then finally gave a rough, "Fine," and opened his car door- swiftly and gracefully climbing out.

**Please, please, PLEASE review! I really want to know what you guys think and if you want more!**


	2. Breaking Noses and Hearts

Elena's entire house was wrecked.

Splinters of wood came off of every surface, and all of the items in her living room were torn and trashed- as if the place had been the home of a bunch of drunk male humans. Damon sniffed around, but there was no traces of Elena's family- they were long gone: dead or not, he did not know. Stefan looked upstairs for traces- but it was a fruitless search that produced no results. Whatever had done this to the town- it had ruined Fell's Church _very_ thoroughly.

Stefan had dried blood on his face from the cuts he had received from where he had been held prisoner- and that was the only trace of blood that Damon could find. His brother was walking down the stairs when he almost collapsed: Stefan had lost a lot of blood, and he needed rest to make him better- but he wasn't getting any: and walking around searching for clues was not going to help.

Damon managed to catch Stefan before he fell down the rest of the steps- and he threw Stefan's arm over his shoulder, balancing him. His brother breathed heavily before managing to say to Damon:

"I'm fine."

"I couldn't care less if you were fine or not, but you collapsing is _not _going to help in a situation like this," Damon replied coldly.

"Then then why are you helping me up and not leaving me here?" Stefan asked, confused.

"Oh yes, I guess you're right," Damon grinned, and dropped Stefan's arm from his shoulder. But what happened was not what Damon expected. He saw actual fear in Stefan's eyes before he fell face first into the floor. Damon heard Stefan's nose break and he could smell the new blood that it was pouring out. Stefan whimpered. Having a broken nose- even for vampires- was not a pleasant experience.

"Whoops," Damon said, actually meaning it. He leaned down to help Stefan up again, and when he did and Stefan was on his feet, he was shocked at the amount of blood that was spewing out of his nose.

_Ouch. _

"You need to get cleaned up. Now," Damon said. Stefan was losing so much blood that he was deathly white now- and not vampire white: dead white. Paper white.

"Ugh," Stefan said, nearly falling over again.

"Never mind that actually, we don't have time. You're losing too much blood you can barely stand. Come on, back to the car."

Damon managed to half-carry half-drag his brother back to the car, where they were met by a series of gasps from the girls.

'What did you do?! Damon, did you punch him?!" Elena sounded furious with him, but concerned for Stefan. Her family matters and home being wrecked were not the center of attention anymore- Stefan was.

"In a way, yes," Damon said coldly, warning her with his tone that he didn't want to argue with her at that particular moment.

"We need to get him some rest. Don't make him talk. Don't shake him awake. Leave him asleep." he said to her, making his orders very clear to her.

"But-" Elena started angrily, do doubt away to launch into a How-Could-You-He-Is-Your-Brother speech.

"Elena. I'll explain everything later and so will he. But right now he needs _rest._ Your constant raving isn't helping him. And don't you think we should be concerned about your town?" Damon said, voice as smooth and cold as a cucumber.

Elena glared at him for a second, but then realized Damon was right. She whispered, "He's right, Stefan. You sleep," to Stefan before giving Damon another cold look and then looking out at her ruined town. Suddenly her eyes widened with fear and shock.

"Wait- there's people!"

Damon's head turned fast to where she was now pointing. And was instantly disappointed he had. If he hadn't looked, he would have been able to ignore the man that his eyes were locked with at that moment. For he knew the man was trouble...and more dangerous that anyone would believe...


	3. Jack

Damon watched as the man stepped forward.

He hadn't aged a day since Damon had last seen him- which was around six years ago. His dark brown hair was still the same and in the same style. His hazel eyes were still as mean and dangerous as they were last time. His body was still sculpted like a god- not that Damon was gay, but it was pretty noticeable, even for a guy. He was fashionably dressed in dark clothes- a black sweatshirt, black jeans, and black shoes.

And he was smiling.

"Ah, Damon. It's been such a long time." He was walking toward them, smiling, but Damon could see his cold, hard eyes and immediately knew he was angry.

Elena gasped, more for the shock of the man's beauty, and clutched Stefan closely to her. Bonnie looked over at the man with fear and shock- but then she sensed something about him, and started looking at him a little curiously. Damon knew what had made her curious.

The man was a witch called Jack. Well, wizard. But his people were all known as witches, not wizards. Bonnie would have picked up on the man's Witchy energy, as she was a witch too.

Damon just nodded at him, trying to think of an escape route. Wait- did Jack's people do this, damage the town? But he wasn't about to hang around to find out- he knew Jack wouldn't come here alone...and that meant more witches. And possibly one of Damon's exes...

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked coldly.

"Tut tut, Damon. Manners," Jack said, stopping walking and wagging his finger at Damon in a scolding way. "I think the question is: Why are you here?"

Damon didn't answer, and looked away from Jack's eyes. Damon's ferrari was parked right in the center of the street, so there was no way he could escape through the bushes. Jack was standing directly in front of them, so there was no escape there either.

Jack had them all trapped.

"What have you done to my town?" Elena croaked, clasping Stefan to her chest- who had fallen asleep before Jack had made an appearance.

Jack looked at her coldly, tilting his head a little bit in a threatening manner. Damon was angry at Elena- could she not sense how dangerous Jack was?!

But then Jack smiled.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to upset a woman- my sister had given me that much experience." Jack's eyes cut to Damon when he mentioned his sister. Damon just stared back.

"Anyway," Jack continued, cold eyes still on Damon. "I have no real use for you people. You will just annoy me."

Bonnie gasped, and Elena looked a mixture of angry and scared. Stefan was quiet, but Damon could tell he was still alive.

"Is that man dead?" Jack asked smiling. "Ooh, he looks a lot like you Damon, is he the brother you always whined about? Stefan? Oh yum, he's bleeding."

Damon just kept his eyes on Jack- not backing down. Jack was a witch, but also a vampire. It was a strange race: they had Witch blood, and were born half-vampire through one of their own and another vampire, and in order to live forever they needed to be bitten by _another_ vampire to somehow...seal their vampire-ism.

Jack smirked, then turned his back on them and started walking away. But as he did so, he flicked his thumb over his shoulder in a command- still not looking back. Then he said: "Kill them."

**_Especially_ short chapter, but the next one is coming up tomorrow. I thought it would be a dramatic place to end- with a cliffy lol. **

**Please review! :-D**


	4. Lily

Everything happened at once.

Figures showed themselves from the trees, looking down at them with no emotion. Bonnie screamed, and then covered her mouth to start crying. Elena just looked petrified, and then buried her face in Stefan's hair. He had slept through everything. _Git_- Damon thought. The people coming out of the trees were the same race as Jack- Witches with vampire blood. Jack himself stood in the center, smirking at Damon once again.

They slowly advanced on the group of humans- and Damon knew that they were going to drink the humans, then have a little fun with Damon and Stefan. Bonnie squeaked and ran in Elena's arms, placing an arm around Stefan as she did. Damon was the only one that was standing out of the car- Elena was sitting on the seat, with Stefan sort of hanging out of the wide-open car door. Damon didn't have many thoughts- just that he had to find an escape route. His life had been threatened many times, but never like this. Damon's plans were running out fast.

"Jack, what's going on?" a girl's voice suddenly said.

Damon looked past Jack to see a beautiful girl: his ex.

***

**Bonnie's POV**

The girl was gorgeous, too gorgeous for words. She had bright blue eyes and beautiful, long, flowing brown hair. And her figure...she could be a model. Bonnie was crying uncontrollably, so sure that she was going to die without saying goodbye to her mother- but she managed to see the beauty of the girl no problem.

Her face was angry, but Bonnie could still see a...motherly quality about her? It was as if she knew how to discipline well, but her anger was focused on Damon.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

Damon looked stunned to see the girl, but then he smiled a little.

"Just passing through."

The girl glared at him, then looked at the car with the crying Bonnie, Elena and unconscious Stefan it contained. Her eyes widened, and her eyes looked around her- taking in the murderous people and the man who had ordered them to kill them all. The girl glared at the man, then said:

"Jack, what on earth are you doing?! You can't kill here, Jamie is gonna be home any minute!" She placed her hands on her hips and stared at him.

"Jamie will learn soon enough that killing is how we get by in this world," the man- Jack- said cooly to her.

Who on earth was this Jamie person?- Bonnie was starting to wonder through her tears.

"Oh, enough of that bullshit! Have these people actually said anything to you?! They could be some help!" The girl looked furious.

"And how could some humans, an unconscious bloke, and _Damon _possibly help us?!" Jack snarled at her.

"Well, that girl has the Sight, Jack!" the girl pointed at Bonnie- who immediately shrank away from her pointed finger.

"Hmm." Jack didn't really seem to be interested anymore. "And what about Damon?" He smiled at the girl.

She didn't flinch or look away from his gaze.

"I'll deal with Damon."

Elena and Bonnie looked at each other in fear. Was the girl going to kill him?!

"Alright, show's over! Go away!" the girl shouted to the small crowd of people who just moments before had planned on killing all of them. But they immediately obeyed her, but not without giving her a few evil looks- which she ignored.

Instead the gorgeous girl walked over to Damon- her eyes never leaving his- and Bonnie saw Damon smirk. He was obviously thinking the girl was going to snog his face off.

The girl walked straight up to up, stood in front of him defiantly- and slapped him hard in the face.

Bonnie and Elena gasped- but Bonnie was still raw from crying so much that she couldn't really think about what was happening to him. I nearly _died_ tonight- she thought. If that girl hadn't have come, we would _all_ be dead.

Elena was watching the girl and Damon wearily. The way the girl had said she'd take care of Damon was not a nice phrase. She had sounded mad- and well, generally not nice.

Damon's head was knocked to the side from the force of the slap, and he slowly turned his head back round again. Then he very slowly smiled.

"Hello to you too, Lily. And how have you been doing?" he asked the girl seductively, but this only prompted the girl's anger more.

Stefan had woken up- probably due to the violent atmosphere surrounding him- and he looked at Elena and Bonnie's faces, checking they were okay. Then his eyes sought out Damon- but when he saw him, he found it was best to keep silent: and he watched the confrontation of the girl and Damon with a mixture of shock and fear.

**Damon's POV**

The girl slapped him again.

"Don't you _dare_ talk to me like that, dickhead!"

"You never used to have a problem with it," he drawled.

"I've changed Damon!" she snapped coldly at him.

"And what made you change?" Damon asked, amused, obviously expecting her to say that she had fallen in love and had her heartbroken and-

"Raising your child for the past six years!" Lily yelled.


	5. Stunned Little Vampires

**Stefan's POV**

Everyone was stunned into silence.

Stefan stared at his brother. _Damon, _a _father_?

He had heard of these kind of people- they could conceive children, but most had miscarriages. Damon had a child? Damon?! And he himself had a neice or nephew. Six years old. Wow. Stefan had never seen himself as an uncle- and Elena was an aunt. Wait, how did Elena feel about this?

He turned towards her- and saw that Elena was staring at Damon. She was gobsmacked, and he could see the disbelief in her eyes. His heart sank: he could also see hurt there. Hurt that Damon had a child.

As for Damon himself- he stood gaping at the beautiful girl called Lily. She was staring at him angrily- letting the news that Damon had a child sink into those around her.

The man- Jack- was watching looking interested and amused. What sort of relation did he have to the situation- Stefan wondered. Was he just bored- or a relative of the girl?

"Yes, that's right! A little boy! _Your_ little boy!" she jabbed her finger into Damon's shoulder in frustration.

Damon closed his mouth.

"What's his name?" he asked- sounding robotic and cold.

"Jamie."

Damon just stared at her, and she stared back until the point where she couldn't seem to take it anymore.

"Don't you even care?!" she yelled, slapping him again. "He's your _son_. He's _our_ son."

**Damon's POV**

He didn't know what to do.

His ex had just revealed that he was a father. A father to a boy called Jamie who he had never met.

Nearly seven years ago- Damon had gone to a club, where he had met a girl. Lily. She was spoilt, selfish, and generally a real brat. Her brother, Jack, had been a close friend of Damon's- until he found out about Lily and Damon. They had had a relationship- and then she had found out she was pregnant. She hadn't cared- and she told Damon that the baby would die anyway. It was that common with her people that nobody who conceived a child thought their baby would make it to nine months- the pain they felt when their baby died was too heartbreaking to bear. And so Damon had left her- and she still hadn't cared that much. Jack had always been very protective of her, so Damon now understood why Jack was being so violent and angry.

The baby must have lived.

And now here she was. Going on about her boy like she had been a mother all her life. How on earth could a baby change someone so dramatically?- Damon thought. Lily wasn't the same person anymore.

Damon had never wanted to be a father. His own father and talked about marrying him off to a pleasant girl and having children- and Damon could see himself marrying, but _never_ having children. He didn't like children. They cried and moaned all the time. He was never a kiddy person. What evil vampire would be for Christ's sake?!

He didn't care about the boy. He was probably an annoying little brat- just like his mom.

So, to answer her question, he didn't care.

"Eeurgh!" Lily screamed at him. Christ- she looked hot when she was angry.

Damon could hear Stefan's thoughts. His younger brother was thinking about having a little nephew- and how weird it would be somebody calling him 'Uncle Stefan'.

But that would never happen. Damon didn't want to see the boy. He was better off without him anyway- so Stefan would have to kiss his little dream goodbye.

Lily angrily sighed, then looked at her watch- her gorgeous dark hair falling over her eye in a long fringe. Then she turned around to Jack and said:

"Can you pick Jamie up from school?"

Damon blinked in shock. And he could feel everyone else's shock too. Jack wasn't the sort of man that picked kids up from school. He and Damon had used to be friends- and so Damon knew that Jack was dangerous as_ hell. _He had killed more than even _Damon _could comprehend.

Jack glared at his sister.

"I don't pick kids up from school. Jamie can walk."

"It's seven miles away, Jack. And it's not often that I ask you for anything any more. Just, please? He's your nephew," Lily said, hands loosely on her hips.

Jack nodded over at Stefan, and said:

"He's Jamie's uncle too, I don't see _him_ picking him up."

"Well, he's injured and he doesn't even know who Jamie is," she snapped at him. Then her eyes widened.

"Oh, yes, sorry. Do you want one of my people to heal that?" Lily asked Stefan nicely, nodding to his bleeding cut.

"Lily! I swear to God, you've gone soft since Jamie was born!" Jack growled at her.

"Calm down. So pick up Jamie? I haven't finished with _Damon_ yet."

Jack sighed roughly and angrily, then marched off.

"Great," she said, then turned to Damon and her gaze hardened again.

"You're staying in this town for now- I still need to talk to you. If you try and leave, my people will stop you. We have the upper hand here," she told him clearly. Then she moved off to the car.

Damon had never been told what to do by a woman before- and he didn't like it. But he knew deep down that she was right- her people would kill him if he tried to leave.

**Bonnie's POV**

The gorgeous girl walked over to the car after she had finished telling off Damon- and Bonnie was at first scared about what the girl would do to them. But then she saw the girl's young, kind, mothering-type face and she relaxed a little.

"Are you all alright? I'm sorry about my brother. He has issues," she smiled at them. Then her gaze cut to Stefan- and she frowned.

'Seriously, do you want someone to fix you up? That cut on your head is still bleeding and you appear to have a broken nose."

Stefan looked at the girl- and Bonnie knew that he was thinking the same thing as her: the girl was so _kind- _how did a girl like her end up with a bad boy like Damon?

"I'm not sure. It's okay, thank you-" Stefan began to say.

"It's no trouble, honestly," the girl interrupted- looking concerned. "It won't take long either- just a few minutes and you'll be back to normal."

Bonnie looked up at Elena- and saw that she was crying. Was she in love with Damon? It would explain her tears- and in another situation Bonnie would be able to understand why she was so upset. Finding out a man she loved had a child with someone else? Not a great thing.

But this wasn't another situation- and she thought Elena should be paying more attention to the injured Stefan at that moment. They could deal with Damon later.

She nudged Elena- and her friend looked at her, then at Stefan. She seemed to realize what Lily was asking, and she nodded at him.

"You should go. You'll feel better," she said to him, putting on a brave face.

Stefan looked away from her- and Bonnie felt so sorry for him. He had just discovered that he had a nephew, and his fiancee was crying over it because she loved his brother.

He nodded at Lily and gave her a small smile.

"Alright, thank you," he said, trying his best to climb out of the car. He perched on the edge of the seat while getting some energy back. He seemed to be exhausted.

"Can I ask you something?" Bonnie squeaked at Lily, still wary about her.

But Lily gave her a kind smile and said "Yes?"

"Do you live near here? I mean- you and your-your son must live near here if you have to pick him up from school?" Bonnie had a little difficulty talking about her son- as she knew she was also talking about _Damon's _son. Which was just plain weird.

"Oh yes. We live about seven miles away in a different town. We've lived there for a few years now," Lily replied.

"And what about the man? Jack?" Bonnie asked, hoping Lily would say that he was just passing through. He _petrified_ her.

"He lives with us. He pretends that he hates Jamie, but deep down he loves him," Lily smiled again, not seeming bothered by being asked so many questions by a girl she'd just met.

Damon just stood by the car thinking.

About his son.


	6. Jamie

Lily took them to a village not far away- and Bonnie was _shocked_.

There were people practicing magic everywhere, and it was _her_ kind of magic. Psychic powers, levitating powers, _fire_ powers. She felt weird here- like she had finally found where she belonged. These people were like her, well except for the vampire bit, but all these people did the stuff _she_ did- all the stuff she couldn't control.

But she couldn't think about that too much.

Her family.

Her dad, mom, and sister Mary. What had happened to them? Were they still alive? She felt a tear slide down her face.

Bonnie and Elena had been left in a comfortable room that also seemed to serve as a lounge. Stefan had been taken away by one of the witches, and Damon...well, Bonnie had no idea where Damon was. Looking for his son?

A jolt went through her. Damon had a _son_. Did the little boy look like him? Or did he look like his mother?

Right now, Lily was on the phone to someone who she was telling off for stealing ice-cream. Bonnie blinked- no_ way_ could that be Jack. It had to be-

"Jamie, I told you, not before your dinner!" Lily scolded.

Oh, god- Bonnie thought. Jamie, Damon's son. She tried to listen in to what Jamie's voice sounded like- but she couldn't hear anything. Was Damon listening? Bonnie looked around her- but there was no sign of Damon outside or in the room. Was he at all interested in his son?

Lily hung up the phone and went over to where Bonnie and Elena were sitting on the couch, and she noticed Bonnie was crying. Her kind, motherly face smiled at her sympathetically.

"Oh, honey, we don't think you're family and friends are dead."

Elena looked up from staring at her hands in her lap.

"Really?" she asked hopefully, and Bonnie noticed the desperation leaking through her voice.

"Yes, we think they were moved," Lily said, but then she frowned. "But we don't know what by."

Stefan came in through a door to their left. His cut was fully healed and when Bonnie looked closely- was no longer there. His broken nose had been healed too. He smiled shyly at Lily.

"Thank you," he said, taking a seat beside Elena.

"No problem," Lily smiled back.

Just then Jack walked back in, shooting dagger looks at Lily, who pretended not to notice.

Wait- Bonnie thought. If he's back, then that means Jamie's with him. Oh go, she was going to meet Damon's son.

Then a little boy cluttered into the room.

"Jamie," Lily said to the boy, and the look on her face said it all. She _loved_ this little boy. He was her son. Bonnie didn't know what to do- this boy was Damon's child!

The boy- who had been placing his school bag on the floor facing away from them- turned around. Bonnie and Stefan gasped, and Elena's hand shot up to her face.

For the boy looked exactly like Damon.

His cheekbones weren't as defined as his fathers, but they would with age. His dark straight hair was glossy. But his eyes, instead of being black like Damon's, were a gorgeous shade of melted chocolate, and Bonnie realized that he had the same eyes as his uncle Jack. His clothes looked gorgeous on him- a white shirt and school tie, with plain pants.

He was so cute!- Bonnie thought surprisingly.

The boy was standing looking at them all with a look of confusion and slight hurt on his face.

"Why is everyone gasping at me?" he asked hesitantly. His voice just sounded so _cute_ to Bonnie that she had to smile at him.

"Nothing, you just remind us of someone that's all," she said to him, stunned at her newly found confidence with kids. She had never talked to kids as young as Jamie was- but the boy was so sweet, and he was Damon's son, so she had to make some sort of effort with him.

"Oh, right," now Jamie seemed totally calm and not bothered- believing Bonnie. She nudged Stefan- who was still staring at his nephew- but he didn't stop.

"Okay, Jamie. Upstairs, get changed," Lily ordered, giving Jamie a kiss on the cheek.

Jamie moaned- sounding like a typical six-year-old. He looked at all of them- Bonnie, Stefan and Elena- and waved happily to them all before walking upstairs. Jack watched him go, then went back to glaring at Lily.

Bonnie looked at Stefan- and mumbled to him:

"You can't keep staring at him like that Stefan, you'll make him upset." Stefan nodded, but still kept staring up the stairs after Jamie.

"Oh, for god's sake Jack! You're still a manly man even when you pick a child up from school!" she scolded Jack.

That just made Jack glare even more, and Bonnie didn't understand how Lily had the courage to stand up to him. He was gorgeous- wow- but he was dangerous. Very dangerous.

"Have you killed Damon yet? Verbally of course, you can't kill a spider these days," Jack said, shaking his head.

This time it was Lily's turn to scowl.

"Where is Damon?" Bonnie heard Elena ask, sounding afraid and defensive.

Lily turned.

"Oh. He's walking around, but if he tries to leave the area my people will catch him. Crow or not."

So the relationship lasted quite long then?- Bonnie thought. She must have known him a long time if she knew he changed into a crow- he didn't tell most girlfriends. She could tell Elena was thinking the same thing.

"So you knew him for a long time then? Damon, I mean," Stefan asked, still gaping after Jamie a little.

"That's none of your business," Jack growled dangerously.

"Jack," Lily warned, turning to him. "He has a right to know, he's Damon's brother."

Then she turned back to Stefan and smiled grimly at him.

"Yes, I knew him for a while. A few months. Then he fucked off somewhere. I pretended not to care when he left, but deep down I was hurt. When my people conceive, miscarriages almost always happen. But I had a feeling that my baby was going to make it through- and Damon didn't even bother to come back and check, " then Lily's expression brightened. "But I got Jamie out of my relationship with him. So I don't regret it- much as I wish Jamie had a different father."

Jamie came back down the stairs, wearing a black hooded jumper and blue jeans. Stefan started his whole staring thing again, but Jamie wasn't looking in his direction.

"Who are these people, Mom?" he asked, looking up at his mother with his big brown eyes, resembling a little puppy.

Stefan looked at Lily, asking with his eyes if he should tell Jamie he was his uncle. Lily looked away from Stefan to Jamie, and she looked at him for a second, considering. Then she nodded to Stefan, her expression blank.

"Erm, well, I'm your uncle Stefan," Stefan said, looking at Jamie. His expression looked a mix of loving and worried at the same time. Bonnie smiled a little. Stefan loved Jamie already!

The young boy frowned.

"I didn't know I had another uncle. I've been stuck with him for as long as I can remember," he said, pointing at Jack- who laughed for the first time since they arrived. Bonnie was surprised.

And then Damon walked in.


	7. The Village of Witchcraft

Stefan held his breath as Damon walked in the room.

His older brother looked around the room uninterested, but then his eyes found Jamie and his whole body froze. Damon's face changed from its usual humor to panic and shock.

The room was completely silent, only Jamie's fidgeting being a minor noise. The little boy had no idea what was going on around him, he was obliviously playing with a toy car he had found in his jeans pocket. _Damon's_ little boy- Stefan thought. Even he didn't know what Damon would do next- and he was his brother. Would he just pretend not to like the boy and carry on living a lie? Or would he step up a little bit and face up to the fact that he was a father? Not likely.

Damon softly stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. Lily was staring at Damon, wary about what he was going to do. Jack was glaring at Damon, leaning against the wall post threateningly. Nobody seemed to know what to do.

But even Stefan was shocked at what Damon did next- he was his brother and thought he'd found all of Damon's surprises already.

His brother smiled to everyone.

'So, what's going on here then? Anything interesting?"

Stefan glared at Damon, speechless. Pretending not to like Jamie was one thing, but ignoring the little boy altogether? That was a whole different one- and it was the worst thing that Damon could've done.

Jamie looked up at Damon- and Damon's eyes were locked onto his son's.

"I have a new uncle," Jamie said, then looked down at his toy car again. Damon stared at Jamie for a while, possibly surprised by the boy's actions. He seemed to look Jamie up and down for a second. Admiring his handiwork- Stefan thought harshly. He felt protective of the boy already, and Jamie hadn't even said two sentences to him yet.

Everyone in the room had their eyes on Damon. Jack was looking to brutal over at the wall that Stefan thought it best if Jamie weren't there. There may be a fight.

The same thought must have occurred to Lily, as she tore her eyes away from Damon and looked down at her son. The boy's dark head was still over the toy car, running it up and down his little hand, his hair flopping slightly over his eyes.

"Jamie, honey, you can have some ice cream if you want," she said to him in her kind, mothering tone.

Jamie's head looked up and his expression brightened. Stefan felt his heart give a little lurch- the boy was so happy and it pleased him. He could sense that everyone else's heart's had picked up too- well, maybe apart from Jack and Damon. There would be no going back for Stefan now: he was an uncle. He would always be an uncle and vowed to himself that he would always be there for Jamie if he needed him.

"Okay," Jamie answered to his mother, then his eyes went back on Damon's again and he frowned. Everybody in the room- excluding Damon- froze. Did Jamie know?

Damon just stared back at Jamie, his posture staying the same in his arrogant, selfish way.

Jamie's frown stayed on his face as he turned around- seeming a little confused. Then the frown lessened a little as he walked down the hall to the room that was supposedly the kitchen. His expression just looked confused when he got to the closed kitchen door and let himself in. The boy's height hadn't kicked in yet- a trait he had obviously inherited from Damon- but he still could open the high doorknob quite easily by himself. The realization hit Stefan that Jamie was the same size that Damon had been when he was six- not that he remembered much of that time, being practically still a baby.

"Did you say something in the car?" Lily turned her attention back to Jack, frowning once Jamie was out of earshot.

Jack's cold gaze switched to Lily.

"I told him we had visitors."

Lily stared angrily at him.

"Did you say which ones?" she snarled.

"No. I was going to give him a heads-up, but then you phoned and started rambling on about Jamie stealing ice-cream."

Stefan could sense Bonnie's fright at Jack. He was a very scary person, and he knew that Jack frightened her more than Damon did.

He looked across at Elena, who was sitting beside him on the couch. She wasn't looking at anywhere in particular, just down at her feet. She had un-shed tears in her eyes. Stefan's heart gave a involuntary squeeze at how much pain she was in. She loved Damon. No matter what Stefan did or how much she denied it: she loved him. Stefan knew that she loved him too, possibly more because she was still with him, but the thought still pained him that his fiancee was in love with his older brother.

Lily had visibly calmed down. Then she turned coldly to Damon. Once again Stefan was struck by how beautiful the mother of his nephew was. And she was kind, mothering, and obviously adored Jamie. That was all Stefan wanted for his nephew: a loving mother to support him in anything he wanted to do in life- something Stefan himself had never really had.

"Come with me. We need to talk. _Now_."

Damon smirked a little, averting his eyes from the direction that Jamie had disappeared in.

"And why would I do what you say? A young woman, against me?" he said, cockily. But Damon was obviously wishing he hadn't after what happened next.

Jack was on Damon before anyone could even blink. He had pushed Damon roughly up against the door- his hand keeping him in place by pushing on Damon's neck. He snarled in his face.

"You fuck off for six years and now you wanna be cocky? You know as well as I do, Damon: I can kill you- I can kill anyone- anytime I like. I'm stronger than you. I always have been. You wouldn't stand a chance and I wouldn't give you a second thought."

Damon's expression remained blank throughout the entire violent scene- but when Lily's hand dropped lightly on Jack's arm Stefan saw a hint of relief come into Damon's face and eyes. So it was true, Jack was stronger than Damon, and he was far, _far_ more violent. Immediately Stefan thought of Jamie. His new-found protection of the young boy filled his mind: Was the boy safe with an uncle like this?

Lily had laid her arm on Jack's arm, and Jack had snarled angrily into Damon's face again before pulling away and looking coldly at her. Stefan could see the family resemblance between them, and it was obvious that Jamie had inherited some of the family looks with his chocolate brown eyes- which were Jack's.

"Damon. Upstairs. Now," Lily said sternly.

Damon smirked a little, but walked gracefully up the stairs nonetheless.

Jack snarled at Lily.

"Why don't we just kill him?! Jamie's better off without him anyway." Stefan was shocked- he hadn't thought that Jack may be doing this for Jamie's benefit rather than his own. Maybe he cared just a little bit for him?

"I need to talk to him, Jack. And you need to go out and find who ruined these peoples town." Lily tilted her head toward Stefan, Elena, and the petrified Bonnie.

Jack glared at her, before looking over at the group of people on the couch. He saw Bonnie flinch when his eyes landed on hers, and he grinned madly and stomped out the door while giving her a wink. That only made Bonnie even more scared.

Lily made her way over to Bonnie and knelt down in front of her. She didn't even ask what was wrong- she knew already.

"He had such bad Energy," Bonnie said shakily. Lily just nodded her head, then managed to give Bonnie a little smile.

"He's looked out for me all my life. And our parents weren't exactly Mom and Dad Of the Year. They were terrible- but Jack and I had each other. He had to grow up quickly, and he became a bit-" she struggled to find the right word.

"Evil?" Bonnie supplied.

Lily smiled sadly.

"Kind of. But he's like a puppy deep inside. The little boy that I grew up with is still there- I think. And he does love Jamie. You know he hasn't had a steady girlfriend since Jamie was born?"

Bonnie looked surprised.

"But he's still evil!" she fearfully said.

"Yes, he kills for pleasure. But he wouldn't hurt me or Jamie, and I doubt he'll hurt any of you either if you don't anger him purposefully. The only reason why he didn't kill Damon just now was because I was here," Lily said, looking at each of them in turn. Her eyes paused on Elena's, and she frowned a little- but she didn't say anything.

"I'm going to talk to Damon upstairs. You're welcome to have a look around the town- my people know that you're here and they'll welcome you. Bonnie, you'll enjoy walking around the town, I guarantee that when you've come back you'll have learned a new spell. Oh, and don't worry about Jack: he's miles away by now," Lily stood back up again, smiling at them.

Stefan and Bonnie stood up- Stefan glad that he could now get up without being scared of falling back down again. He turned to Elena and saw that she had tears running down her face. His heart felt pained and he held out his hand to her, desperate to touch her again to comfort her.

"Elena?" That was Bonnie. She stood beside Stefan.

Elena came to her senses and stood up again- giving a tiny smile to Stefan as she took his outstretched hand in her own.

"What about Jamie? Don't you need someone to watch him?" Stefan asked- knowing that he sounded and felt slightly hopeful that he could look after Jamie.

But Lily smiled.

"I can hear very well and talk to Damon at the same time. And anyway, he'll be too obsessed with his ice cream to notice anyone's gone. But my mom should be coming to the town soon and I'll need someone to look after him then if you're offering?" Lily smiled kindly at him, but she wasn't pushing her son onto Stefan- she knew that he wanted to babysit him.

"Sure," Stefan jumped at the chance.

They left soon after that- Lily telling them the directions and if they became lost, just to ask someone nearby, nobody would mind. The people were nice around here- she told them, and everybody would be interested in them. Stefan smiled at her- thanking the heavens that his nephew had the best mother he had ever met- and thanked her for being so kind to them. Elena was still looking upset when she left- Stefan noticed- and she kept darting glances to the door to the room that Jamie was in. Stefan was looking extremely forward to looking after Jamie, and getting to know him.


	8. Homework and Meeting the Mom

**Damon's POV**

He had walked up the stairs, not exactly knowing where he was aiming to go, but it didn't matter. On his way up he could hear the slam of the freezer as Jamie got his ice cream out of it. Then he heard the clatter of the cutlery as he heard him take a spoon out of the drawer and get stuck into his ice cream.

Damon had no idea how to feel. When he had laid his eyes on the boy for the first time, he had felt an unfamiliar jolt go through his body. But then he had quickly reminded himself that he had nothing to do with the boy- he wasn't any sort of a father to him. But he had felt like he had already known Jamie, it was as if he'd known him all his life.

But he didn't know him. And Damon convinced himself that he didn't need to get to know him. After all, the boy meant nothing to him.

He had looked like me though- Damon thought. He had his dark features and obviously his height. Stefan had gone all protective already- Damon had felt that when he had stepped through the front door. His brother was looking forward to being a proper little uncle to the boy. But Damon was adamant that neither he or his brother would be returning to this place and seeing Jamie ever again.

But as Damon walked down the plush hallway of the upstairs rooms, he noticed a room that definitely wasn't Jack or Lily's, and he had a quick peek inside. Yup, _Jamie's room._

Damon immediately made to back out of the room, not wanting to have anything to do with the boy or his possessions. But he noticed that Jamie had a lot of old storybooks in one corner of the room- and lots of toy cars in the other. Damon nearly laughed at the thought of Jack reading Jamie a bedtime story. Did he?!

The violent almost-fight that had happened downstairs had angered Damon, but not because of the obvious reasons. Jack had been stronger down there, and now everyone knew that Damon didn't stand a chance against Jack. Jack was well practiced in the dark arts of both Vampire and Witchery- and he was very clued in on how to kill without even batting an eyelid. Yes, Jack was a Witch, but mixed with being a very strong vampire- that was not a good thing.

Nobody knew the name of Jack and Lily's race, they were just different. When their race had children, their children were born human. But when changed in Vampires by their parents, they became a fully grown adult Vampire and Witch. The race were basically vampires who practiced the arts of witches, but unlike vampires, they could have children. But miscarriages were all too common in their race- and when mated with a Made vampire, the chances of the baby surviving were slim.

But Jamie had.

And now Damon couldn't care less about the boy. Some would have thought this strange and quite a disgrace- but it was Damon's nature after all.

Lily came upstairs, and Damon turned his head to look at her coming from the stairs. Christ, she looked so much hotter than when he had first met her. She was _gorgeous._

And she was pissed.

"Stop gaping at me like that! You've seen me naked plenty of times and _now_ you stare?! You're _sick_!" she snarled at him.

He just smirked at her.

"Sweetheart, you've always looked beautiful. Now, what is it that you wished to talk about?"

Lily just stared at him, then closed her eyes and shook her head, looking shocked and sad.

"Whatever possessed me to sleep with you I'll never understand."

Damon watched her for a second, and then when she opened her eyes, he smirked.

"Don't you even care that you have a son?"

Damon lost his smirk.

"He's not my son."

Lily tried to slap him again, but he caught her wrist just before her hand touched his cheek. She tugged her wrist of of her hand and let out an angry sigh.

"How can you deny him?! He looks just like you!" she yelled.

"I'm not denying anything. But he is not my son, I don't know him," Damon said coldly.

"Then _get_ to know him then!" Lily screeched. "I don't want you as his father, and quite frankly I'd rather see you dead than in my home but I'm doing this for Jamie's sake, not mine!"

Damon stared at her.

"And what if I don't want to get to know him?"

"Then you deserve to die."

Lily had tears in her eyes by now, and Damon started leaning against the wall.

"You're his dad, Damon. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" she screeched at him.

"He doesn't mean anything to me, I don't want him!" Damon snarled loudly at her.

Lily sighed.

"It's obvious I'm getting nowhere with you, Damon. So leave. But I still can't let you leave the town. Not until we find who did Fell's Church damage," then she turned on her heel and walked down the stairs- and no matter how much Damon could help it, he couldn't stop himself from looking at her gorgeous hair swishing along her back.

"Oh, and by the way. Stefan is babysitting Jamie tonight," she said, turning back to look at him, beaming.

Damon snarled. That stupid pansy Stefan! Now he'd get mixed up with the boy and babble on non-stop to Damon about him. _Fucking_ great.

**Bonnie's POV**

Lily was right. Bonnie did learn a new spell before she returned back to their house. Not only that, but she learned_ many_ new spells!

She had walked through the streets in awe. Many people had looked curiously at the three of them, but they had smiled nonetheless- welcoming them. Stefan was too busy staring at the heartbroken Elena to notice much of the new town. It wasn't often when Bonnie felt angry at her best friend, but now was one of those rare occasions. Elena was still not over the fact that Damon had a son, and Bonnie knew she was heartbroken. But she should be thinking about Stefan and not Damon! After all, she had chosen Stefan over him. Hadn't she?

Bonnie also knew that Stefan wasn't babysitting Jamie because of the fact that Lily was going out and needed a favor- she knew he was doing it because he wanted to spend time with Jamie. He loved him already- and Bonnie couldn't help wishing that Stefan had been Jamie's father and not Damon. Speaking of Damon, was he even interested about Jamie?

"I think we should go back soon," Stefan said- and Bonnie reluctantly nodded.

She understood that Stefan was anxious to get back and see Jamie again, but she felt strangely at home in this town and was hesitant to leave it. It was the first time she had been around a group- or coven in witch talk- of people that could perform the same spells as she could. And they could teach her new spells too! Many new spells. Bonnie knew her grandmother would love this place, and she was anxious to call her and ask her to visit.

Stefan put his arm around Elena, and she turned her head towards him and kissed him on the lips. Normally, Bonnie would have told them to get a room, but all she did was smile. It was about time they had a bit of kissing and she didn't want to interrupt.

**Stefan's POV**

To say he was anxious to get back would've been an understatement.

It was like when he left Elena, he couldn't wait to get back to her- and now he couldn't stop thinking about getting back to Jamie. He couldn't wait to see the little boy again- and he'd get to look after him that night! Lily didn't seem to happy about meeting her mother, but she was still going and Stefan hoped to god that she wouldn't cancel- she knew how much he wanted to babysit Jamie and be a proper uncle. He steered Elena round in the other direction, back to the house they came from, and Bonnie followed. They hadn't walked too far from the house as Bonnie kept wanting to stop and talk to people which took up most of their time- but Stefan didn't mind, he was just too excited at the prospect of looking after his little nephew.

When they got back, Jamie was sitting on the couch- doing what looked like homework. Lily was doing her hair in the mirror. The door had been open, so she noticed them in the mirror when they walked in- and smiled at them over her shoulder. But Stefan noticed that her smile looked very strained.

"What's wrong?" he asked, scared that she was going to say he couldn't babysit.

"Oh nothing, it's just my mother. I have to dress completely right and be perfect otherwise she picks up the slightest little thing and moans about it," Lily said, flustered and looking around for something.

Stefan sighed in relief.

"You're going somewhere?" Jamie asked, and Stefan brightened when he heard his sweet, childish voice again. And he noticed how Jamie looked slightly scared- he obviously didn't like being apart from his mother, even when he pretended that he didn't care.

Damon appeared at the front door and let himself inside the house, and Stefan instantly stiffened. But Lily didn't even look up from what she was searching for.

"Yes, sweetie, I have to go be mentally tortured by your grandmother," she said, sounding like a typical mom that's looking for her keys and hates her mother. "But your Uncle Stefan is gonna babysit you." She looked up at Stefan and smiled kindly.

"Are you still up for it? He's had his dinner and everything."

"Of course," he said hurriedly. He had felt a happy jolt at being called 'Uncle Stefan' for the first time in his life. That was something he'd never thought he'd be called.

"Is it okay if I go back into town again? It's really...amazing out there," Bonnie asked shyly.

Lily gave a kind laugh.

"It sounds as if I'm your mother. Go ahead."

Bonnie giggled, quickly thanked her, then scurried to the door. Damon was blocking her path, but she glared defiantly at him until he moved- a smirk on his face.

"So Jamie's had his dinner, and if he asks for ice cream don't give it to him because he gets a bit hyper. And...have fun!" Lily smiled at him after she was finished saying orders like typical moms do.

"Okay," Stefan said, happily. Then he looked at Jamie, wary if the boy would like him or not- but Jamie smiled happily at him.

"As joyful as this is, I have to be going," Damon said coldly, and when Jamie turned his head to him in surprise, they stared at each other.

"Mom, were you hiding him in the closet? I didn't see him go out," Jamie looked accusingly at his mother, which was completely hilarious. Everyone laughed, and even Damon managed an amused smirk.

"Aha!" Lily said happily, grabbing her keys. Then she leaned over and gave Jamie a kiss on the cheek- which he moaned, annoyed at.

"Bye, honey, be good! Hopefully I'll still be alive when I get back from meeting your grandmother!" she said tiredly, then smiled her mom-smile at Jamie.

"Bye Mom."

"I'll be back around eight," she told Stefan.

Then Lily smiled at him- and he smiled back- then she made her way to the door. Damon was still standing there, and she glared at him.

"Are you staying?"

Damon smirked at her, but then his eyes cut to Jamie for an almost-miss-able second.

"It might be interesting."

**Next up Stefan babysits for the first time in his life! :D**


	9. Changing

**Oh my god....you know what I just realized? I FORGOT MEREDITH! I feel awful :-( Its probably because the TV series doesn't have Meredith that I forgot. But I cant fit her into the story now, so I'm afraid Meredith is gonna have to stay out! **

**Anyway here you go, enjoy and please review! **

"So what do you want to do?" Stefan asked Jamie nervously. He had never babysat before.

But Jamie just frowned down at his homework and asked;

"Can you help me with this? Mom and Jack aren't very good at homework."

"Sure," Stefan replied, and sat himself down next to Jamie. But the little boy moved and sat on Stefan's lap- making Stefan laugh.

'So, are you really my uncle? Or one of those people that are friends of my mom and say they're my aunts and uncles when they're really not?" Jamie looked up at Stefan with his wide chocolate eyes.

"Yes, I'm your real uncle," Stefan smiled back.

"Oh. I can live with that then," he said happily, and he looked back down at his homework.

That sounded like something Damon might say- Stefan thought warily. The boy looked so much like Damon that it was hard to not compare some of the things he did to Damon.

English homework, was what Jamie was stuck on. How to spell certain words- but the words that Jamie was stuck on were the ones that really no six year old could know yet without asking for help- so Jamie was obviously not struggling at school, which made Stefan happy.

"So when is your birthday?" Stefan asked him after the homework was done and Jamie was watching cartoons.

"21st of September," he happily replied- beaming.

"But- that was last week," Stefan said, frowning. So I had just missed Jamie's birthday- he thought, sadly.

"Yup. Uncle Jack said that I'll start getting wrinkles soon," Jamie frowned comically.

But Stefan was concerned. Jamie was just a boy: should Jack really be saying these things to him? Was he taking them seriously?

"Uncle Jack...is he mean to you Jamie?"

"Not really. He always pretends that he hates me, but he's funny, and I _know_ that he's getting me the new Time Remote Control Car for Christmas, so he's not _that_ mean."

Stefan smiled. Jamie's mother had raised him right, and he was all too thankful that little Jamie's mother wasn't a drug dealer or anything. Damon had slept with many girls, and thank heavens that it was Lily who had his child.

"Who were those people?" Jamie looked up at him, curiously.

Stefan paused before answering.

"Well, the blonde girl was Elena, and she's my girlfriend. The ginger girl was called Bonnie, and she's our friend."

"What about the guy that my mom was hiding in the closet?"

Damn- Stefan thought. But somehow he knew that Jamie would ask about Damon.

"I am Damon," said a voice from the bottom of the stairs. Dammit- Stefan thought, just managing to restrain himself from saying it out loud, for Jamie's sake. He'd forgotten that Damon had gone upstairs after Lily had left. Stefan had hoped that he had just said that he would stay just to annoy Lily, but it seemed that Damon wanted to annoy Stefan once again.

Jamie turned around to look at Damon, and it seemed that Damon was struck by how much the little boy looked like him- as he immediately looked away from Jamie's eyes.

"So, you're like the...boogeyman?" Jamie said, slightly fearfully.

Damon smirked slightly.

""Yes, in a way," Damon said, still keeping his eyes anywhere but at Jamie. Stefan just sat, and watched Jamie carefully. He was already feeling very protective of the boy, and watched his every move.

"Oh. Jack said the boogeyman was gay. Are you gay then?"

Stefan couldn't hold back a laugh at that one.

Damon snarled, looking straight at Jamie now.

"No, I am not gay."

"Okeydokey," Jamie said, completely oblivious to Damon's anger. Mind you, he did grow up with Jack- Stefan thought.

Just then Damon Changed into a crow and flew over Stefan's head, causing Jamie to yelp. The crow flew out the window.

Not one of Damon's most stylish exits- Stefan thought. But then he started to panic: was Jamie scared? Had he ever seen a person Change before?

But when he looked back at his nephew, Stefan saw that he was gazing out the window with admiration in his eyes.

"Woooooow, I've never seen a person Change into a _crow_ before!"

"You've seen a person Change before?" Stefan asked, worried about what Jamie was being exposed to in the Vampire world.

"Well sure, my mom Changes into a fox. But Uncle Jack changes into a black wolf! It's _so_ much cooler!"

Stefan was shocked. Damon could chosen that to Change into. Why did Damon and Jack Change into the same animal? Did they decide together? He made a mental note to ask Damon if he and Jack had been friend before Jamie was born. They obviously weren't now, so it was obviously Jamie that had taken their friendship apart. But in _no_ way was it Jamie's fault- Stefan thought.

"I don't know what my Grandma and Grandda Change into, I don't see them too often. They like me, but they're always mean to my mom and Jack. I don't know why," Jamie's eyebrows furrowed adorably in confusion. Woah, _adorably_? Where did that come from?- Stefan thought in shock.

"So come on, what do you wanna do now?" Stefan asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Can I ask you stuff? I don't really know you that well," Jamie asked, curiously.

"Erm, okay," Stefan answered, hesitant and reluctant.

Jamie moved his little head slightly, and looked at Stefan seriously- as if he were going to ask a very, very important question.

Stefan fought the urge to gulp- expecting that Jamie was going to ask why Damon looked like him.

"What's your favorite colour?" the boy asked with his most serious face, looking very cute.

Stefan smiled in relief, love showing on his face.

**I'm reeeeeally sorry for the delay! Christmas was hectic! Please review, and Merry Christmas for those who celebrate it! :-D**


	10. Storytime

For the next few hours, Stefan and Jamie had a lot of fun. Jamie found a movie on the television to watch- and Stefan immediately checked to see if it was suitable for Jamie's age. But when he found out it was, they barely even looked at the screen. They talked for ages, Jamie asking Stefan random questions such as: "Where did you meet Elena?" and "Does she leave make-up everywhere? My mom does that."

But then came a question that Stefan was hesitant to answer.

"Where were you born?"

"Er..." Stefan said reluctantly. Sure, Jamie had Vampires for parents, but did he know that they were Vampires? Or did he just know that they could shapeshift?

"One of the people in the village is seven hundred years old, are you older than that?"

Oh, guess not- Stefan thought, relieved.

"Erm, no, I'm not. I was born in Florence, Italy, in the fifteenth century. And where were you born?"

"America," Jamie clapped his hands. Then yawned.

Stefan looked at his watch. It was eight o'clock. Lily had said that she would be back around eightish, and Stefan was extremely disappointed that his time with Jamie was ending. After Lily had left the room, Elena had announced that she was going after Bonnie to make sure that she was okay. Stefan saw the look that Elena gave Damon on her way out of the house, even though he knew that she thought that he couldn't see it. It was one of deep hurt- and it made Stefan slightly sad to know that she was hurt because of Jamie.

Jamie was yawning a lot lately, and Stefan quickly scoured his mind to find out what time he usually went to bed, and saw that it was eight o'clock.

"Bedttime?" he asked, smiling.

"No, I can stay up!" Jamie pleaded.

"No, no. There's school tomorrow! And you have to brush your teeth first, remember," Stefan smiled. He rather liked being the scolding uncle. "Eeurgh. Can you read me a story then?"

Putting a child to bed. That was one of the few things that Stefan hadn't done in his long lifetime.

"Er, yeah. But you're gonna have to pick a story. I don't know where they're kept."

"Okay!" Jamie said happily, then rushed upstairs. Stefan heard him get his pyjamas on before going into the bathroom to brush his little teeth.

He walked up the stairs and watched from the door as Jamie picked a story out of a big decorated box in the corner of the room. His nephew had on Star Wars pyjamas. Stefan had never seen a child in pyjamas before, but thought Jamie looked rather cute as he jumped under the covers of the bed and sat up against the headrest.

Cute? Where did that come from? Being an uncle doesn't make you soppy, does it?- he thought, wondering if he had issues.

"Come sit," Jamie said, whacking the side of the bed.

Stefan went to sit next to the young boy.

For the next ten minutes, Stefan read Jack and the Beanstalk to Jamie. It was a very, very easy book to read- but it was obvious that Jamie was still having trouble reading, however this was probably normal at his age, Stefan thought.

When he got to the part where Jack returns home, Stefan looked down at the boy to see that his eyes were drooping. He carried on reading in a soft voice for the next few minutes, until Jamie was totally asleep.

Stefan carefully stood up from the bed, careful not to disturb his nephew. He then placed the book in the box that it had come from, and walked back over to Jamie.

The boy's face was at total peace, and his hair jutted out adorably from his head onto the pillow.

And once again, Stefan couldn't help but notice that he looked so much like Damon when he was asleep.

After hesitating slightly, he leaned down and kissed Jamie's forehead softly. The boy smelled sweet and young, and he had that smell that babies smell like. But, Stefan thought, Jamie is still a baby.

And he shouldn't be treated horribly by Damon.

Stefan closed the door silently, then crept down the stairs again. He was about to take out his phone and call Elena when he noticed what looked like a photo album jutting out from underneath the small table in the living room. He picked it up and opened it.

Baby pictures of Jamie.

Stefan smiled happily- the chance of seeing Jamie's babyhood filling him with joy. There was a picture of him as a newborn, his skin creamy and his eyes big and sparling in wonder. Another one as him in a 'Mommy's Little Boy' jumper. Stefan laughed a little, knowing that Jamie would be embarrassed when he was eighteen.

Then he came across one that shocked him slightly. On about the third page, there was a photo which looked like it was taken at Christmas time- and Jack was holding Jamie high in the air. Jamie couldn't have been more than six months old. And he was wearing a baby's Superman costume. Jack was whirling him around in the air above his head like the real Superman flying, and Jamie had a huge smile on his face. Jack just looked mildly amused.

It confused Stefan- he hadn't thought that Jack would have been a baby person at all. Jack was a monster, even worse than Damon- and no doubt would he cause trouble for Stefan. Perhaps he would hit on Bonnie or Elena.

There was a clatter at the door, and Stefan looked around to see that Lily had arrived home. He started to get a huge smile, but then he glimpsed Jack behind her. The smile faded slightly.

Lily smiled at Stefan, and that smile grew when she glimpsed the photo album in his lap.

"That was one crazy Christmas," she said, hanging her coat up on the hanger and coming over to sit on the sofa beside Stefan. Jack had disappeared upstairs. "Where's Jamie?"

"In bed," Stefan said proudly.

"Seriously?" Lily asked, happily.

"Yes."

"Oh, that's great! What story did you read him?" she asked, smiling kindly. Stefan was once again struck by how beautiful she was. Kind and gorgeous, she couldn't be older than eighteen, but there was a somewhat motherly quality about her.

"Jack and the Beanstalk."

"He's _always _reading that one," she giggled. "So how did it go? Was he good?"

"He was perfect. You've done a good job raising him, I have to say. We put a movie on and talked about favorite colours and things like that."

"Thank you," she smiled, then that smile faded when she said: "Did he ask about Damon?"

"He asked who he was. Then Damon himself came into the room and Changed into-"

"My trademark crow," came a cold voice from the front door. Stefan hadn't noticed that it had opened. He looked over. Damon stood in the doorway, looking coldly at them.

"And where have you been?" Lily asked coldly. Stefan looked at her. Damn, she could be scary when she was angry.

"I have been looking around the town. The spells people cast around here are rather amusing."

Just then Jack came stomping down the stairs. When he saw Damon standing right in front of him, the two men glared at one another. Stefan began to grow nervous, they were glaring much too violently for his liking. He wanted to protect Jamie for some reason, but then remembered that Jamie was safely upstairs, sleeping.

"Been knocking up many girls lately, Salvatore?" Jack snarled.

Damon glared.

"I don't make a habit of it, no."

The only people that could get pregnant by Vampires were Lily's race. Humans couldn't- Stefan quickly followed on.

The front door opened again, and Elena and Bonnie entered. Elena looking as if she had been crying, and Bonnie slightly happy and yet saddened- probably due to the fact that Elena had been crying.

**As an extra special treat, I wrote an extra long chapter just for you! But it was so long that I had to split it in two. **

**So... I'm sorry for threatening you, but I want more reviews before I update! Please review as much as you can, every review makes me happy and counts! :-D **


	11. Television and Gloom

Stefan immediately felt pain in his heart at the fact that Elena wasn't handling the information that Damon had a child. She seemed deeply hurt, and it pained Stefan that she would be so upset about it- he thought that she loved him only. He knew that Elena had picked him, but he also knew that Elena still harbored a loving spot for Damon in her heart.

"Is everything...okay?" Bonnie asked timidly, and when Jack's cold gaze turned on her, it turned fearful.

"Everything's fine. How did your day go, out in the town?" Lily asked nicely to Bonnie.

Elena was looking at Lily strangely, and if Stefan looked closely...was that a hint of jealousy?

But then the look was gone and Elena just looked tired and sad again.

"It went good. One girl invited us around for lunch tomorrow," Bonnie happily answered. Well, as happy as a shy girl could be around a murderous monster, a.k.a Jack.

"That's good. How about I show you to your rooms while these two boys play?" Lily glared at Jack and Damon.

"We're staying here?" Elena asked surprised, and Stefan noticed- a little rudely.

"Well, yeah, there's plenty of room. Come upstairs, I'll show you," Lily said, ignoring Elena's attitude and walking to the bottom of the stairs beside Jack and Damon.

Stefan noticed that Bonnie was darting small glances at Jack every few seconds, and he instantly felt protective. Jack was very dangerous, and Stefan hated the thought of such a violent man being around Jamie- but was Bonnie crushing on Jack? Sweet, shy, young Bonnie?

Jack snarled at Damon once more and stalked past him, turning around and walking into the kitchen.

"Jamie's awake," he said up to Lily, who was leading the girls upstairs. Lily stopped half-way up the stairs.

"Bad dream?" she asked.

"Yup," Jack said, and sauntered into the kitchen, past caring.

Stefan wanted to yell at him. Jack was dangerous, yes, but he hated the way that he talked about Jamie. It was as if he didn't care about the little boy at all. But from the photo album, Jack did care, didn't he?

**Bonnie's POV**

The time that she spent in the town was amazing. Everyone was lovely, and they seemed to really _get_ her. They completely understood her problems with controlling her spells, and offered to help her with it and teach her new spells. More than anything, Bonnie was afraid that when she was asleep, some Power could invade her mind. One girl, Miranda,- who had invited Bonnie and Elena round for lunch the following day- had told her many ways of protecting herself when she was weak or asleep. Bonnie was too thankful for words!

Elena was being really gloomy. It was lucky that, being a girl, Miranda wasn't too bothered by her gloominess and thought it was a broken heart- Bonnie could tell. And when they returned back to Lily's place, she could sense that Elena was more upset when she saw Damon. She had looked at him, obviously hurt that he had a child- and for the first time in her friendship with Elena, Bonnie found herself impatient and annoyed at her best friend. She was acting as if she was the only person affected by the bombshell that Lily dropped- but there were other people. Stefan, for one- he was desperate to get to know the little boy and be a proper uncle. He already loved Jamie.

But most of all of the affected was little Jamie himself. He had a dad coming into his life, and he didn't even know it. He had a new uncle, who Bonnie hoped he would come to love. Lily seemed like a very lovely girl, but Bonnie was still adapting to the whole idea of Lily being a mother. Damon went for the annoying, prissy queen type of girls, so how was Lily one of his many lovers? Was Lily once a spoilt little maddam herself?

Jack was scary. There was no other word for him. He was just so_ evil, _and Bonnie knew that Stefan felt so protective of Jamie that he resented Jack. He didn't want anybody like him to be around his little nephew.

Right now, Lily was showing Bonnie and Elena their rooms. The house was very nice, and big with lots of bedrooms to choose from. They were walking down the hall, Lily pointing out where Jack's room was, when they heard a thump coming from the room next to it. Lily frowned, and peeked inside the room.

"I dropped my bowl," said a little voice.

Bonnie couldn't hold back a giggle, Jamie sounded so cute!

"Yes, I can see that, sweetie," Lily smiled.

"Can I watch T.V for a minute downstairs?" the little boy's cute voice said from inside the room.

"Er, I'm not sure downstairs is a good idea at the moment. But you can watch it in my room if we get the T.V working this time, baby."

"Okay!"

The girls watched at Lily entered the room a little more and leaned down. Then she came back out, carrying Jamie on her hip.

Bonnie felt Elena try and hold in a gasp as she saw Jamie again. She knew it was hard for her friend, but Jamie was just a boy, it wasn't his fault that he looked like his father.

_Father_. Bonnie nearly shivered at the strange thought of Damon being a _father_. Sleek, dark, mysterious, evil Damon.

Jamie was wearing Star Wars pyjamas, and he was wrapped up tight in a blanket. Bonnie had never met a child before- in Fells Church she never came across any- but she thought that Jamie looked _so_ cute.

"Right, come this way. I presume you and Stefan will be sharing a room, right?" Lily asked Elena nicely which Jamie rubbed his eyes.

"Erm, yes," Elena was still getting over the shock of seeing Jamie again. She couldn't take her eyes off of him.

"Okay then, this is your room," she pointed to the door down the hall, next to Jamie's room.

Elena said thank you, then went into her room and shut the door, looking at Jamie one last time before unpacking her things from the small bag that Lily and Jack had retrieved from their car.

"It's hard for her. She's in love with him, isn't she? Damon," Lily said sadly, leaning her head against Jamie's.

"Yes. She loves Stefan, but..."

"I know," Lily smiled, sadly. "Do you want to go to your room and unpack? Or you're welcome to watch T.V with me and Jamie?"

It turned out that the television in Lily's room wasn't working. Little Jamie was wide awake, and blinked at Bonnie.

"I like your hair," he said to her randomly, making her giggle.

"Thank you, I like your hair," she giggled back. He started smiling, dimpling a little.

"Most people do."

That made Bonnie laugh loudly. He was so much like Damon, but a _much_ sweeter version!

Lily beamed at Bonnie, pleased that she and Jamie got along. But then the smile faded when she said,

"I think we're gonna have to go downstairs."

"Yay! Is Uncle Stefan there?" he asked hopefully, his eyes twinkling.

"Yes, he is."

Jamie let out an adorable squeak of joy. Lily picked him up and placed him on her hip again.

"Coming?" Lily asked Bonnie, looking slightly worried.

Bonnie understood. Jack, Damon, and Stefan could all be fighting, and Lily obviously didn't want her son to be in that environment. But Jamie was wide awake, they couldn't leave him in his room for ages- it would be mean.

"Sure," Bonnie said shyly, following Lily and Jamie out of the room.

Jamie waved his little hand at her over his mother's shoulder.

Bonnie giggled.

Bless him- he's so sweet!

**Wow, the amount of reviews has been amazing! Thank you to all of you! I won't use the same threat on this chapter, but I would still love reviews :-D**


	12. Heartbreak

**Stefan's POV**

When Lily, Bonnie, and Elena had all disappeared upstairs- there was only Stefan and Damon left in the room. The sounds of Jack's footsteps in the kitchen were soft and clear.

Stefan thought that if there was a time to ask Damon about Jack's wolf form, it would be now- so he took his chance.

"Damon?"

"If you're going to preach about that kid then stop now before I come over there and kill you," Damon snarled at him from the doorway.

Stefan glared at him, hating the way he talked about Jamie as if he was so...unimportant.

"It's not about Jamie- although we need to talk about that. It's about Jack," he said back.

Damon seemed surprised- and annoyed.

"What on earth do you want to talk about Jack for? Fancy him, do you?" he said coldly, amused at the last part.

"No! It's just- Jamie told me today that he Changes into a wolf. A _black _wolf. The same as you. Did you two...decide together to Change into that?"

Damon's eyes flashed with something at the mention of Jamie's name, but it was gone before Stefan could find out what it was.

"I don't know why that is any of your business. But if it bothers you that much, little brother- yes, we came up with it together about ten years ago," Damon replied cooly.

"So, you were friends?" Stefan asked, shocked. But it sort of made sense- they were both evil and mean.

"Yes, we were."

"What stopped it?"

Damon just looked at him.

"What do you think?"

Ah. _Lily_.

Just then, Lily herself came down from upstairs- and with a jolt of pure happiness, Stefan realized that Jamie was in her arms, wrapped up in a blanket. He nearly jumped in joy at the thought of seeing Jamie again! But why was he down here? What if a fight broke out?!

"Is he okay?" he asked, panicked if Jamie was upset or not.

"Oh, yeah, he's fine. Nightmares. The usual big purple furry monster coming to eat him- that sort of stuff," Lily smiled, reaching the last step on the stairs. She glared at Damon over Jamie's head- but Stefan didn't think he noticed. His brother was staring at Jamie's head.

"So he's gonna watch T.V down here for a bit," Lily finished.

Jack came out of the kitchen and walked down the hall.

Lily was facing Stefan, and Jamie's head was over her left shoulder, facing Jack. The little boy reached out to pat Jack's head.

It was the most amusing thing Stefan had seen in a while.

Lily and Stefan laughed, Damon just stood there, and Jack glared at the little boy. But Jamie didn't seem afraid.

"Go away," Jack snarled.

"You go away," Jamie replied fiercely.

"This is _my _house, little boy," Jack snarled.

"It's my house too, and I'm_ not_ little!" Jamie protested, kicking his little leg out and scowling at Jack- who smirked.

"Stop winding him up Jack, or he'll never get to sleep," Lily scolded, walking over to where Stefan sat with Jamie.

When she sat down, she placed Jamie in between herself and Stefan- the blanket no longer covering his face.

He looked up at Stefan.

"Uncle Stefan!"

Stefan smiled and looked down at the boy with adoration. It felt so great to be called Uncle Stefan- he never thought this day would come, and it made him feel that he finally had a family.

He put his arm around his small nephew.

Jamie put some cartoons on the TV using the remote, and he snuggled down in Stefan's side.

"Are you going to stand there all night boys? Glaring at each other?" Lily said, turning her head and speaking to Jack and Damon from the sofa. "Damon, your room in the first on the right upstairs. And don't think about leaving during the night, because you'll get fried to pieces by Miranda and the others," Lily smiled sweetly at him.

Damon growled at her, then gracefully walked up the stairs- darting a glance at Jack as he did so. Jack snarled up at him before moving over to the sofa next to Jamie.

Bonnie looked very scared. Jack had settled himself into the seat next to her on the sofa- and he was smirking as if Bonnie's fright amused him, which it probably did.

Five minutes into the quietness, and Jamie started yawning. His eyes kept drifting shut and opening again, then drifting shut and opening again.

"Tired, are we?" Jack suddenly said. Bonnie jumped at the sudden voice, and Stefan saw Jack smirk- then he himself looked down at Jamie.

"No," his nephew said, brightening himself up again. Everyone apart from Jack laughed. The word came out like 'do' because he was so tired and couldn't speak properly.

"Come on, baby, I think you're ready for bed now," Lily smiled, picking her son up.

"No!" Jamie protested, but he was already in his mother's arms, being lifted off the sofa wrapped in his blanket. Lily held him in her arms for a second before turning her head to Stefan and smiling kindly.

"Elena's already in your room. Jamie's got to be up for school at seven, but you can sleep in as much as you want," she said, ignoring Jack's snort.

"Actually, if it's alright, I'll be awake for Jamie getting up. I want to look around the town anyway," Stefan replied quickly. He did want to look around the town, but the biggest reason he wanted to get up early was primarily Jamie.

"Okay, suit yourself," she replied. "Say goodnight to your Uncle Stefan, Jamie."

Jamie leaned forward toward Stefan from where his head was on his mother's shoulder.

Stefan couldn't actually help himself- he leaned forward and kissed Jamie's forehead, quickly breathing in his sweet baby scent.

"Goodnight, Jamie," he said, smiling to him.

"Goodnight, Uncle Stefan," his little nephew replied back, smiling- the snuggled back into his beautiful mother's shoulder.

Jack just glared at the boy when he waved at him.

Lily cuddled her son as she took him upstairs. Jamie waved at Bonnie- who giggled.

**Elena's POV**

He had a son.

A _son_.

She never thought she would feel like this. I mean, sure, Damon was gorgeous- and I guess you could say I had _some_ feelings for him, but never had I imagined that I would feel like this. Clearly my feelings were more extreme than I had thought they were- Elena thought as she sat on the bed. His son looked _so_ much like him- and whenever she looked at him, all she saw was Damon.

Stefan and Elena could never have children- maybe that's what was bothering her so much. Lily was beautiful, kind, and able to have children.

Now the child would always be in Damon's life- whether he liked it or not- through Stefan.

Stefan already loved the boy- Elena could see it in his eyes whenever she looked at him. The child- Jamie- was lovely and sweet, but Elena couldn't see through his Damon-like looks to see him for what he was: a young boy.

To her shock and horror, she found that she was slightly jealous of the boy. He already had Stefan's love- just by looking at him- and Damon's attention was already on him. She hated feeling this way, and deep down she knew it wasn't the boy's fault- but Elena couldn't help the way that she felt.

"Brooding, are we?" a sleek voice asked from the doorway. Damon's.

Elena jumped slightly and her eyes darted to the door. She had been too busy with her thoughts to notice that the door had opened and she was no longer alone.

When she looked at Damon- all she felt was hurt. She had no idea why though, she was in love with Stefan. Elena knew that although Damon may have created the boy, he hadn't realized that Jamie was alive. He had had no idea that he had a son.

"Elena?"

She looked at him.

"What?"

Damon just stared at her.

"This is so messed up, Damon. Of all the things that could happen, why did it have to be this?" she cried, and put her head in her hands.

Elena felt a pressure next to her on the bed- Damon had sat down next to her.

"I had no idea that he was alive. Babies in their race die in the womb often, it's very common," he said cooly to her.

"That's not the point! You have a _son_, Damon. A _son_! Another person to think about!" she looked up at him.

"I won't think about him. I don't know him."

"You're a _father_, Damon. You can't just ignore him- it's not right!"

"I can and will, Elena," Damon stood up, and looked down at her cooly. "It also seems that you're a little...shall we say, envious, of the boy?" he smirked at her, but his eyes were cold.

"But- I- Damon, I- I'm not! He's a boy, he needs a dad," she stuttered, unexpected tears coming to her eyes.

Elena was shocked by the way she was acting- but there was no denying now that she had extreme feelings for Damon...and she had never even known they existed.

"Everything okay?" a voice came from the door. They both turned.

Lily was at the door with Jamie.

Elena gazed at the boy for a second- he was dozing off on his mother's shoulder, his hand in the ends of his mothers long hair. It was a sweet sight. Well, it would have been if Elena hadn't been so upset.

At Lily's words, Elena realized that she had tears in her eyes, and quickly wiped them away.

'Um, yeah, fine," she replied.

Damon's eyes were on Jamie. Elena knew that despite what he said- he was interested in the boy. She knew him enough to know that he would never admit it- and it pained her heart.

As if he knew he were being watched, Jamie's eyes began to flutter open. His eyes met Damon's, and he stared drowsily at his- unknown to him- father. Jamie's head was still comfortably against his mother's shoulder, and he looked remarkably adorable.

Elena immediately felt guilty. She was thinking about herself, her new found feelings for Damon- when all the time there was a beautiful young boy who needed a father.

"I was just leaving," Damon said, finally managing to tear his eyes away from Jamie to glare cooly at Elena. He was probably pissed that she had yelled at him.

"Right. C'mon, Jamie," Lily said, looking at Damon suspiciously and at Elena, concerned. She really is nice- Elena thought sadly.

Lily walked out of the room, leaving the door open for Damon to follow.

He turned to her.

"Goodnight, Elena," he said cooly, then kissed her cheek and vanished out of the door before she could speak.

Elena heard a door shut, presumably Damon's- and she heard Lily put Jamie into his bed. The door was still open- so the sound drifted through.

"Goodnight, baby," she heard Lily kiss her son's forehead.

"Goodnight, mommy," she heard Jamie mumble back.

Lily closed Jamie's door- and Elena heard her go back downstairs.

Alone in her room, Elena sighed- then got ready for bed. It was strange getting into a different bed, but the day had been so long that all she wanted was sleep.

Her eyes drifted closed, and her last thought before falling asleep was what the day tomorrow would bring.

**Longest chapter I've ever done! Thanks to all you reviewers, I really appreciate it! I might put up some flashback scenes of Damon/Lily- before Jamie was born, like how they met, etc. But you're gonna have to ask for it cause I have no idea how many of you want me to post them. I added a little Damon/Elena in this chapter, but if you don't like it then please tell me! **


	13. Lily and Damon Flashback

**Thank you so much for all the reviews, keep them coming! Okay, a lot of you have said a very enthusiastic 'yes!' to the Damon/Lily flashback scenes. So here they are! I've added in Lily's POV when she gives birth to Jamie, minus the gross stuff like blood etc. Cause for that I'd have to ask my mom what exactly happens during the childirth (like from the woman's POV cause internet isnt reliable) and what teenage girl wants to ask their mom that??! EWWW! :-S**

**But here you go :-D Enjoy! But if you don't like it then tell me, please! I can rewrite it if you want me to, it's not a problem.**

It was a cold, wet night in Florence, Italy. Damon was making his way across to a club on the edge of the city, meeting his good friend Jack. They were planning on feasting on the gorgeous girls at the clubs.

Jack was ruthless. He preyed on the most innocent, and he petrified everyone. If anyone thought that _Damon_ was bad, then Jack was _Satan_. He did horrible things to anybody he wanted- never showing any mercy. There was no way that Jack could ever be nice to anyone. Even Damon himself was shocked by the evil that Jack held. But he had fun with it too.

Jack did have a soft spot though, no matter how little that spot was. He loved his little sister, Lily- who Damon till this point had never met. Jack was always on the phone to her, asking who she was with. She was apparently living in France for the moment, Jack said, and she was very spoiled. Jack said that their parents were mean and unloving- but they were rich. Therefore Lily got everything she wanted.

Despite her being a spoiled little brat- Jack still had a soft spot for her.

Damon handed his coat to the man at the door of the club, then made his way in. Jack would be around the ladies. He looked dangerous to them- and danger attracts women whether the women themselves liked it or not.

He spotted Jack. He was hanging around some women- not surprisingly- and he had his arm around one of them. Jack's eyes met Damon's and they both grinned evilly at each other. Gracefully, Damon made his way along the bar, attracting looks of awe from women. He smirked to himself.

When he reached Jack- Damon finally noticed the woman who he had his arm around.

She was _gorgeous_.

Her long dark hair cascaded down her back, short enough for it to look voluptuous and not straggly or little-girly. Her eyes were a gorgeous ice-blue shade, and they were big and almond shaped- framed with smoky eyeliner and mascara.

Damon's gaze scanned her body. But he had to scan quickly so that Jack wouldn't notice- if he was after the girl then he wouldn't want Damon sneaking a peek. She was wearing a tight fitting cream dress that had a black belt around the waist. She looked absolutely beautiful, like an angel.

"Damon. This is my sister, Lily," Jack said, not noticing the way that Damon was looking at her.

Oh, _dammit._

Jack's sister.

But he wanted her.

Lily looked at Damon with an air of a spoilt girl, and when her eyes met his she gave a sly, seductive smile.

"Damon, it's nice to meet you," she said, the seductive smile still on her face.

For the rest of the night, Jack fed on nearly every woman in the bar- except his sister of course. Damon knew that Jack could murder every single person in the room if he wanted to, and he wouldn't even blink an eye. Lily kept looking at Damon as if she wanted him, and Damon looked at Lily like he wanted her.

He knew that Jack wouldn't be happy and could kill him- but Damon had never possessed much control of his...er, sexual needs. When he wanted something, he went out and got it- regardless of anyone else.

And now he wanted Lily.

They eventually left the club- Jack, Damon, and Lily- and went back to Jack's plush apartment. Jack stormed into the place and fell asleep on the couch. No seriously, that was all he did. Just walked through the door, then flat out on the couch.

"Looks like someone had a bit too much to drink," Lily said, but she was looking at Damon and smiling seductively.

"Yes."

Damon watched as the girl somehow managed to place a blanket over Jack and still look desirable as hell. He couldn't take it anymore. He had to have her.

And that night he did.

Jack had no idea. He woke up in a mood the next morning- and unbeknown to him, Damon had been in bed with his little sister. But they managed to get dressed in time for Jack's awakening. They continued their 'relationship' for a few days and Damon found himself actually craving her. Craving the scent of her and the feel of her skin.

"Damon?" she asked him one day, in bed with him while Jack was away at- well, somewhere.

"Mmmhmm?" he mumbled, his eyes shut.

"I'm pregnant."

His eyes opened immediately. Then looked at her in alarm.

"It's most likely gonna die, though. Nobody really has many children in my race anymore," she said, uninterested.

She really was a spoilt little maddam.

Jack still had no idea about their relationship. Lily had grown up with him, and therefore knew how to mash her thoughts from him rather easily. And he didn't care enough to prowl around in Damon's thoughts- he was too busy killing all he wanted to actually be interested.

And so, a few weeks later, Damon and Jack went their seperate ways. The were very good friends still, but both knew that the other man would never stay in the same place for too long- they got bored easily. But no doubt that they would meet again. That was part of the fun of being a Vampire- make friends, contacts, then move on and make more contacts. Then when you're in trouble, you can call on them for help. But Damon was a rather old Vampire, and he never really needed help. Therefore it was another six years before they met again.

Damon had no idea how Jack had found out about the baby- but he figured that Lily must have told him when she got past the three months mark, when she got panicked. She must have told him who the father was too- and not long after Damon left either. Lily couldn't keep a secret for that long, he had seen it in her mind.

**Lily's POV (having Jamie)**

She felt so guilty when Jamie was born.

In the hospital having him- all Lily could think of was that labor was a bitch. She had been a spoilt little maddam, and she knew it the second that she held Jamie for the first time.

Jack was by her side through the labor. No matter how much he was still pissed about her having sex with his good friend, he still loved her. She knew that Jack hated kids, and he didn't want a screaming baby around- and to be truthful to herself she hadn't either. Lily was going to get the baby adopted. She hadn't made any plans for the adoption, but she didn't see herself as a mother.

"I'm seriously gonna kill Damon," Jack snarled for the third time. The midwives hurried in and out of the room- rather excited. It wasn't often that they got to deliver a baby, as most died during the first few months in the womb.

"Yes, Jack, you've said that. Now hold my hand, please, it hurts," Lily anarled, though the last bit came out as a plea.

"Okay," Jack said, then grabbed her hand and smoothed back her hair. Jack always was very protective of her, and she had needed him more than ever.

"ARGH!" she screamed. Yup, childbirth's a bitch.

The midwives cam in, and the next five minutes was all about 'push, push, push'- Jack actually looking away. Lily wasn't too mad at him. He murdered people, all the time- but watching a baby come out of his little sister? That was another thing.

"And he's here!" the midwife screeched happily- clasping the wailing baby in her arms. But Lily couldn't see him, her head was back on the pillow in exhaustion.

"He? It's a boy?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yeah, it's a boy," Jack said, staring at the midwives- who had taken the baby to the corner of the room, placing him on a counter.

"And a healthy one too," a midwife said happily.

One of the midwives picked up the baby- who they had wrapped in a bundle- and took him over to Jack and Lily.

"I don't want-" Lily began, away to say that she didn't want to hold him- but he was already in her arms.

She looked down at him.

He was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, and so_ tiny! _He had beautiful choclate, twinkling eyes- the family eyes. Jack had them, and their grandfather had them too. Tiny little snuffly nose, and tiny mouth. She loved him so much. How could she ever think of giving him away? Lily hated herself, and if there was a way that she could punch herself then she would do it- just like she would do anything for the little boy in her arms. He was her life now.

Lily could feel Jack's stare on the boy too.

"Isn't he beautiful?" she dreamily gazed up at Jack, a blissful smile on her face.

"He's alright," Jack sniffed. Lily knew that he loved the boy in her arms- but she also knew that he would deny it all the time.

She looked back down, and leaned her head in closer. The boy smelled beautiful- the baby scent. Lily kissed his forehead, and cuddled him closer to her chest- then she realized that she was crying.

"Lily?" she heard Jack ask.

"I've been so spoilt, Jack. Haven't I?" she sobbed.

He was surprised.

"I'm not gonna deny it."

"Well it's all gonna change. He's so perfect, Jack, look at him."

Jack stared down at the boy, and leaned forward to take him out of her arms. Lily was reluctant- never wanting to let her little boy go. But Jack was her brother, she trusted him.

Jack clasped the bundle of blue blankets to his muscular chest, and looked down at his nephew.

"What are you gonna call him?" he asked, staring down at the boy.

"I have no idea. I was gonna- Jack- I was gonna give him away! Now that thought makes me sick to my stomach!" Lily sobbed, her head falling into her hands.

"How about 'Jamie'?" Jack said, placing a hand on her hair and gently pulling her head back up.

"Jamie. I like it," she smiled.

Over the next few days, Lily couldn't get enough of Jamie. She loved every little thing about him. His snuffly noises, his little yawns. And Lily saw the look in Jack's eyes when Jamie made a snuffly noise or fell asleep in his arms. But despite that, Jack pretended that he didn't like him.

Th day came when Lily was allowed to leave the hospital and go home. She had walked in a pregnant girl, not too interested.

And now she was coming out of the hospital as a mother.

She felt like a mother. Lily suddenly found herself scolding Jack, like mothers do- and making cooey noises at Jamie. She couldn't believe how much she'd changed. Jamie was her life. Every little move he made, she memorized it. It was amazing how a person could change after having a baby.

She was grateful for Damon, but she did wish that Jamie had a proper father- who _cared_ for him like a father. But Lily could give him all that love, and Jack was there to be a manly figure to him.

But if she had the chance, she didn't want Damon to meet Jamie sometimes, then run away- then come back, then run away. In and out, in and out, of Jamie's life. Her son deserved so much more than that, he deserved the world. Lily's own father thought money could buy her love, but it didn't. It only made her the spoilt brat she once was. Her father had came in and out of her life whenever he liked. She had hated it.

Lily didn't want that for her own son- and she vowed that she never would let that happen.


	14. Boy vs Satan

**Stefan's POV**

Elena had been crying. He had known that as soon as he stepped foot in the room. Her tears were dried on her face, but Stefan could still see the tracks- and it pained his heart to know that those tears were caused by Damon.

It had just been himself and Jack in the room downstairs, but strangely nothing happened. Jack didn't even talk to him- just changed the television channel and sat there brooding until Lily came back down. Bonnie had left to go to bed after Jamie had been taken up- and she had nervously said goodnight to them both. Jack just smirked, and watched her with slightly narrowed eyes as she ascended up the stairs. It was only quarter to nine, but it had been a long, _long_ day- emotionally and physically.

Stefan hadn't said goodnight to Jack when he went up to bed, he didn't feel the need to. Jack wasn't very nice at all.

He past his room, and he could sense Elena behind it- sleeping already. Jamie's room was right next to his own, and Stefan paused right in the middle of the hallway. It wouldn't hurt to check on him, if he was sleeping right- if he was having any nightmares. So Stefan walked slowly and quietly to the little boys room.

The door- surprisingly- opened with minimal noise, and he peeked inside.

Jamie was sleeping in his bed, his right leg bent to the left of the bed at the knee- the other one straight. He looked absolutely adorable- and Stefan immediately kicked himself for sounding so gay, but he didn't care all that much.

"Peeping Tom?"

He jumped a little, and looked behind him.

Damon- smiling, although it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"If the boys wakes up, he'll be scared to see your face just popping up there at the door," Damon said coldly.

"It's better than him waking up and seeing _your_ face, because he still thinks you're the boogeyman," Stefan retorted.

Damon's face was wiped of all the smile.

"Your Elena was crying today. Seems a little bit upset about the boy..." Damon said cruelly.

"He has a name- it's Jamie. And yes, I have noticed," Stefan said.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a voice came from the stairs.

Damon looked over Stefan's shoulder, while Stefan turned around.

It was Jack, of course.

"Nothing," Damon coldly answered.

"Doesn't look like nothing. You've woken Jamie up again," Jack replied coldly, standing right in front of them.

Stefan, alarmed, looked into the room. Sure enough, Jamie was wriggling around underneath the covers, rubbing his eyes.

"Well done," Jack said sarcastically.

"Jack?" Jamie mumbled.

"Go to bed, boys. Sweet dreams," Jack smirked evilly at the two brothers.

Damon glared at Jack, looking mad- before glancing into Jamie's room one more time, and then going back into his room.

Stefan was reluctant. He didn't want to leave Jamie with Jack. He was violent, dangerous, and he didn't want him around Jamie.

But Stefan had to. Jack was much, much stronger than him, and he could kill him if he wanted to.

His eyes stayed on Jack's before walking down the hall a little to his room. His head turned to the left a little- toward Jamie's room- and he saw that Jack was going into Jamie's room, and shutting the door behind him.

Elena was fast asleep, he noticed- after he shut the door. Her white blonde hair was all over the pillow, and she looked like she was having a peaceful sleep. Stefan just stood and looked at her- would she ever get over Damon? Would she accept that he had a child, and that Stefan wanted to be with Jamie? These thoughts raced through his head as he pulled off his shirt and unbuttoned his jeans.

Even as he lay in the bed next to her, he worried about Jamie. Was Jack reading a story to him? Stefan couldn't imagine him doing that. Did he just knock him out with his Power? It seemed like something a dangerous Vampire might do to put a child to sleep.

Ten minutes after Stefan had entered his room, he heard Jack close Jamie's door and walk down the hallway. A door open and shut, then the house was completely silent.

Even for a Vampire, the day had been exhausting- and Stefan wanted to be up at seven for Jamie, so going to sleep at nine o'clock became a good idea in his mind. Stefan closed his eyes, and within seconds he was- surprisingly- asleep.

**Stefan's POV( in the morning)**

Lily's voice in his head woke him up.

_Morning, you said you wanted to wake up at seven? You can go back to sleep if you want?___

Instantly awake, Stefan sat up and tried to neaten his hair a little. Even speaking in his mind, Lily still sounded lovely. Although his strength was weak, he was able to reply back.

_Morning. No, no, I won't go back to sleep. Is Jamie up?_

_Well, it's seven, but I kinda wanted to give him an extra fifteen minutes. You know, Jack told me he was awake again last night, _she replied.

_Oh yes, he was. How did Jack get him back to sleep? _he knew he sounded panicked.

_I think he probably just sat with him till he fell asleep again. By the way, the bathroom is two doors to your right. Help yourself, nobody's inside. _

Lily seemed to understand why he was worried- after all, Jack was a very dangerous person.

Five minutes gave Stefan the time to get dressed. Careful not to wake Elena, he quietly got out of bed.

The next fifteen minutes were spent in the bathroom for Stefan. He showered and dressed. When he was pulling on his shirt, he heard Lily come up the stairs and enter Jamie's room.

"Jamie?" her soft voice said.

Stefan heard a few mumbles coming from the room.

He held back a laugh- Jamie was a typical boy!

"Baby?"

"Me is not a baby," Jamie's voice said, a little stronger now.

"Yes, you are, come on," Lily said.

Stefan heard a series of rustlings- Lily had either picked Jamie up or he had climbed out of bed on his own.

He exited the bathroom. And there was Lily with Jamie in his Star Wars pyjamas- in her arms.

Lily had on a plain white shirt, but Stefan was still struck by her beauty. Elena would always be the girl he loved forever, but Lily was, well...too beautiful for words.

"Oh, morning," Lily said to Stefan brightly.

"Morning," Stefan smiled.

"Elena still asleep?"

"Yeah," he replied.

Jamie waved at him.

"Hello, Jamie," he said, happily. Seeing Jamie was becoming the highlight of his days.

"Hello, Uncle Stefan. Me is tired," Jamie rubbed his eyes.

Stefan and Lily laughed.

"Er, do you think you can take him downstairs for me, Stefan? His breakfast is already laid out on the table. I just have to go wake up Jack," Lily asked, hopefully.

"Sure!" Stefan quickly replied happily. He'd never held a child before though...

Lily passed Jamie to him. Stefan put his arms around Jamie, and the little boy laid his head on Stefan's shoulder.

"Thanks," Lily smiled, then she stroked Jamie's hair lovingly before moving down the hall to Jack's room.

Stefan buried his face in Jamie's hair as they walked down the stairs toward the kitchen. He smelled like a baby, mixed with a sweet scent. It was comforting.

When he got to the kitchen, he reluctantly placed Jamie down on the chair which had a plate in front of it. Jamie's cereal was already in the bowl, so Stefan picked up the milk jug which was beside it and poured.

Jamie was- adorably- still half-asleep. He kept nodding his head forward and blinking excessively.

Stefan sat in the seat opposite him, and watched him lovingly. But the mood was ruined when Jack came into the kitchen.

Jack didn't even have a shirt on, but had jeans. If Bonnie was down here- Stefan thought- she would faint from the sight of Jack. Yeah, he was attractive- but Stefan didn't dwell on it.

"Hi Jackie," Jamie said happily.

Jack scowled at him.

"Don't _ever_ call me Jackie, _boy_," Jack snarled.

"Don't call me boy," Jamie blinked.

They glared at each other- although Jamie's glare was _extremely_ funny. His mouth went into a sort of pout, and he narrowed his eyes so much that Stefan was pretty sure that he couldn't see.

Lily walked into the kitchen.

"Careful boys, you'll burn a hole through my wall," she scolded. Stefan fought a laugh. "They'll be here in a minute, Jack. You should get dressed."

"Who'll be here?" Jamie asked, flicking a Cherrio at Jack- who glared.

"People. Them and Jack are going to go up to Fell's Church to search for clues as to who burned it down and where the people went," Lily said, smiling sadly at Stefan.

"I want to come," said a voice from the door. They all turned round to see who it was.

**Okay, I'm sorry for this, but I want more reviews before I update again! The next chapter is ready, but I hate having like, nobody saying anything- cause I have no idea if you like it or not, you know what I mean? **

**I'm sorry to all the reviewers! I know how much you love this story, but hey, the quicker you review the quicker I'll update!**

**And I think it'll be the last time I use this threat, cause I don't like being so mean. :-(**

**Please review! :-)**


	15. Jack and the Cheerios

**Sorry for the late update! I had to go to the doctors, and I have another appointment for a blood test. I could be diabetic, how scary is that?!! But enjoy, and I probably will update a lot sooner, we have snow days at school! :-D**

**Stefan's POV**

Damon walked into the room- his face amused at everyone's shock- and Stefan immediately tensed. Jamie was having his breakfast- Jack was bad enough, but Damon there to provoke him? What if a fight broke out? Stefan found himself getting extremely worried for his nephew.

Jamie's head was facing Damon, but when the little boy turned to see what everyone was gawking at- Damon stiffened when his eyes met Jamie's.

Jack was looking murderous, to say the least. His eyes were focused on Damon- glaring like his life depended on it.

"Why would you want to go?" Lily asked him coolly, breaking the silence. But when Jamie turned to look at his mother, an adoring smile broke out on her face as she looked at him.

"I care about the town," Damon said, removing his gaze from Jamie.

Jack snorted.

Damon lounged on the counter next to the microwave- so he was facing side-on everyone else. Jack sat at the kitchen table, so the two men were glaring at each other all the time. The phone in the living room rang, and Lily patted Jamie's head on her way out to answer it.

Jamie flicked another Cheerio at his Uncle Jack.

"Stop doing that or I'll make you a hamster," Jack snarled.

Everyone in the room apart from Lily, Jamie, and Jack stiffened. Wait, Damon did? What did that mean? But Stefan was too worried to care. His eyes darted to Lily, but she just rolled her eyes at him- apparently this was normal behavior. Jamie beamed at Jack happily.

"You won't do that, I'm too cute."

Damon looked at Jamie while everyone else laughed, including Jack- and through Stefan's smiles, he could see _something_ in his older brother's eyes...

"Why would you want to go to the town anyway?" Jack hissed at Damon.

"I don't need to explain anything to you. I just want to help the town, is all," Damon replied coolly.

"Can I come?" Jamie asked, spooning some cereal onto his spoon.

"No," Jack growled. "You don't even know what we're talking about."

"I know it's better than school."

Jack smirked, then it was wiped from his face after a second.

"No."

Jamie groaned.

Lily walked back into the room.

"Jamie's school is closed," she sighed, stroking through Jamie's hair with her fingers.

"How?" Stefan asked- worried that an illness was going around. He didn't want Jamie to get ill.

"The electricity has gone down. I'll have to drop him off at his grandma's," Lily sounded reluctant and slightly steely when she mentioned her mother.

'Or, I could take him?" Stefan asked quickly. A whole day spending time with his nephew! It was like a dream come true- and he didn't want to take no for an answer.

"I don't want to give you to him for two days in a row, it wouldn't be fair to ask you to do that," Lily sounded sad. Stefan's heart dropped about fifty feet to the floor.

"Please, mom! Pretty please! I like grandma, but...Uncle Stefan's better!" Jamie said. Stefan glowed. Jamie loved him!

"I would be insulted, but strangely I'm not," Jack said coolly, his gaze darting to Lily for a second.

"Well..." Lily said hesitantly.

"Please? I'd love to- really," Stefan pleaded.

Lily smiled at him.

"Okay, if you want to," Lily said, giving in- seeming happy to not have to give Jamie to her mother for the day.

"Fine, come," Jack snarled at Damon- Lily sighed. Damon had been throwing annoyed glances at Stefan and Jack- but his eyes had remained on Jamie as he had spoken.

"Oh, how kind of you, Jack," Damon smirked, then the smile disappeared instantly as if a light switch had been turned off.

"It's not like I can't stop you," a slow, patronizing smile grew on Jack's face as he spoke.

So Jack was stronger than Damon- Stefan confirmed. He knew that his brother felt weak and defenseless against this man, and above all- Stefan did _not_ want a man that was stronger than even Damon to be taking care of his nephew. What is Jack lost his temper? Did Jamie feel safe with his other uncle?

Damon glared at Jack with more venom than Stefan had ever seen. Jack just stared back, smiling patronizingly.

There was silence in the kitchen- Lily glared at Jack. Stefan glared at Damon.

And Jamie- bless him- looked at everyone, confused.

"Morning," Lily suddenly said.

Stefan looked past her- Bonnie was at the door, looking awkward and embarrassed into the room.

"Morning," Bonnie mumbled shyly.

"Do you want some breakfast? You must be starving," Lily said, walking around the table toward the sink.

"Erm, sure," Bonnie said- not so embarrassed anymore. Everyone was too busy glaring at each other to pay her much attention, apart from Jamie and Stefan of course.

But then she noticed Jack's shirt absence, and she blushed more than Stefan had ever seen her. She went _beetroot_ red. And she was stumbling slightly as she walked around the table to the last available seat to sit down.

Lily told Bonnie to help herself to anything on the table- Jack and Damon were still locked in a death-glare and didn't notice as Bonnie made herself some breakfast.

"Everyone's having a staring contest," Jamie said, blinking at Bonnie with his twinkling chocolate eyes.

"Are they?" Bonnie said, surprised. But then she realized that Jamie didn't know that the glare Jack and Damon were sharing was _not_ friendly competition.

"I think so. Why is there water on my seat?" Jamie asked his mother, moving himself so that he was looking at the seat.

"I dunno, sweetheart. Maybe you should move," Lily said, taking something out of the cupboard.

Jamie moved his plate over to Jack's side of the table, then got out of his chair. Stefan was full of love for Jamie when he saw that the boy barely made it to the same height as the table. But what happened next shocked him.

Jamie moved from his chair, then made his way over to Jack- trying to place himself in his lap, but not quite making it because he wasn't tall enough.

And Jack cut off his Damon-glare to look down at Jamie, then he _picked him up and placed him on his lap_.

Yes- well, and truly _shocked_.

Jack wasn't the sort of man that let children sit on his knee, so the entire room but Lily was surprised by the act.

Jack nor Jamie didn't notice the surprised aura in the room. Jack looked down at Jamie as his nephew spooned more cereal onto his spoon. It looked completely natural to them.

A knock at the front door sounded, and Lily glared at Jack before leaving to answer it. Stefan, at first, didn't understand why- but then he heard the voice of people that were asking for Jack.

They were here, the people from the town.


	16. Hook, Line and Sinker

**I'm doing a lot of Stefan's POV lately, but I think it's probably better that way. If I did it in Damon's POV, it would be all about how he felt about Jamie- if he feels anything at all- and I want to keep you guys guessing, so that would be useless. Stefan's the best observer to the situation, but I'm not gonna keep at his POV. For now, its him, but after this chapter I'll switch and switch, okay? :-D**

**Blood test is over, thankfully! Many of you guys had one before? It's really........draining lol**

**Enjoy! I worked as quickly as possible just for you lot lol :-)**

**Stefan's POV**

Jamie sneezed on Jack's arm.

"Eeurgh!" Jack growled, wiping his arm and hitting Jamie on the head- slightly gently, at least- Stefan noticed.

Jack picked Jamie off his lap, clasping him under the shoulders, then placed him on the chair again. Then, half-naked, he left the kitchen, giving Damon another cold glare again before he shut the door.

Silence in the kitchen again.

"Who are those people at the door?" Bonnie asked, worriedly.

"People from the town. They're all going to pick up as many clues as they can," Damon said, his eyes darting to Jamie a little.

"The can't be dead, can they? I mean, some sort of attack-" Bonnie began tearfully.

"Bonnie. Please- not in front of Jamie," Stefan warned. No _way_ did he want his six year old nephew to hear these things!

Bonnie nodded.

Stefan could tell that Damon was away to say something, but at that moment, Jack burst back in the kitchen- thankfully wearing a black shirt- and two people followed him in.

The kitchen was huge, so it wasn't cramped.

But even so, Stefan was slightly unnerved. He didn't want a bunch of scary people crowding his little nephew.

But Jamie didn't look scared. His Cheerios were soggy now, and he waddled off the seat to reach up and put his bowl in the sink. Stefan saw that Bonnie's eyes had gotten an adoring expression- the kind that women get when they see a cute baby or anything else that was generally cute. But he himself did have to admit that Jamie did look rather cute. His tiny little figure which barely reached up to the table level, never mind the sink level. The tousled hair and Star Wars pyjamas only added to the effect.

Stefan had never understood people when they had talked about 'beautiful children'. To him, a child was a child- they were all the same. But with Jamie, he finally understood what people meant.

And Damon couldn't care less that he had created such a beautiful child.

Or maybe....there was something in his eyes earlier- Stefan told himself. But there was no way that he could find out what that was without _asking_ Damon- and he didn't want to for two, very important reasons: One- Stefan didn't want the risk of Jamie being hurt or scared of Damon when he was angry. And Two- It would make Elena even more upset when she glimpsed Stefan and Damon fighting. There was no doubt in Stefan's mind that Damon would use physical violence against them when he was asked such a question, one that would violate his nature and cause him much anger.

Jack wandered around the table, and leaned against the kitchen counter next to the sink with crossed arms- glaring at Damon once again.

"Ah, Salvatore- we meet again," said one of the two unknown men coolly.

Everyone's gaze- except Jamie's - turned to the man that had spoken. He was unbelievably good looking, like Jack, and he had a backpack that held items that Stefan was thankful for not being on display in front of Jamie- they were filled with guns and knives.

Damon glared back coldly at the man.

"Yes, we do," he replied.

The man's eyes darted from Damon to Jamie.

"Phew, this must be awkward," he laughed.

Damon just glared.

"And how's little Jamie? Star Wars, is it?" the man seemed amused.

"Well, it's not Cinderella," Jamie said, blinking as if the man were stupid.

Jack smirked coldly.

"Owned by a kid, Sam. Nice," he patronized.

Sam. Hmm. Stefan was expecting something posh like Androfitus.

"Shut up. Ready to go?" the man, Sam, looked at Jack, then at Damon.

"You coming, Damon? Or has Lily got you grounded?" Sam smirked.

"I'm coming," Damon snarled. Stefan felt the need to jump up and hold Jamie close to him for fear that Damon might get violent. His brother seemed to have a limit of how much he could take before he retaliated.

"Righteho, let's get going, ladies," Sam said, grinning- and then his eyes came to Stefan.

"Aaaaah, you must be the annoying little brother he always talked about," he said, his eyes glinting due to his new found power over the situation.

"That would be me," Stefan murmured.

"Well, I'm Sam, obviously. Right ladies, come on, come on, you can put your make-up on later."

"Getting a bit cocky there, Sam," Jack said, his voice low- but extreme danger was contained in it, so evil that it made Stefan shudder.

Sam looked at Jack, and outright fear appeared on his face. Jack was _extremely_ dangerous, but Stefan found himself rather angry and worried. Jamie was a mere six years old, and he was standing right next to Jack- which made Stefan very uneasy. What if a fight broke out, like he had worried before? Or what if Jack got too angry and broke something- whether it be a mug or a person's bones- and Jamie saw it all? He was just a little boy, and he shouldn't be in an environment like this. And where was Lily?

"Go upstairs and get dressed," Jack said, not taking his cold eyes off of Sam's fearful ones, but everyone knew he was talking to Jamie.

"Why?" Jamie asked.

Jack looked down, and Stefan nearly punched him- it didn't even matter to him that Jack was stronger and could easily kill him. No man should look at a child so coldly, and Stefan was more protective of Jamie than ever before. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Damon shift a little. Was Damon- well, what?

Jamie didn't seem to be that bothered by the coldness of Jack's look. He sighed dramatically, then toddled his way over to the door- which Sam and the other man were still blocking. He blinked up at them, and the other man tapped Sam on the shoulder to alert him that he needed to move.

And Sam stepped by, very hurriedly- it was obvious that he was still terrified of Jack, no matter how long he had known him.

Jamie waddled down the hallway- looking too adorable in his Star Wars pyjamas- and walked up the stairs.

"We should go. Just be warned Sam- flick of my wrist, and every single bone in your hand breaks. That goes for you too, Damon," Jack smirked, but he was cold and mean sounding.

Thank god- Stefan thought- that Lily entered the room right at that moment. Damon wouldn't do anything rash in the presence of her, because if he shouted at her or said anything out of line, Jack would rip his head off.

Stefan felt slightly faint when he saw what Lily was wearing. She was gob-smackingly beautiful in a purple dress and black, tiny cardigan.

"Come on," Jack snarled, not liking all the men gazing at his sister.

"Where's Jamie?" Lily asked, sounding slightly worried.

"Getting dressed," Jack replied.

Lily grabbed her purse from the kitchen, then went upstairs- presumably to get Jamie.

Two minutes later, and all the men were leaving the house via the front door, all glaring at each other.

After all the men had left, it was just Bonnie and Stefan sitting in the kitchen. Bonnie looked at Stefan with her deep chocolate eyes, begging him for an explanation.

"Bonnie, I'm sorry. I have no idea what's going on. They're probably all alive and well. When Damon gets back, we'll know more," Stefan replied, sadly. He hated being so helpless, but Jamie was occupying the majority of his thoughts. He got to spend the entire day with his little nephew!

Lily returned down the stairs, carrying Jamie on her hip. The little boy was dressed all in black with little colour- he obviously took after Damon in that area. But his personality was of course completely different, Jamie was wonderful, sweet, and a little boy. Damon was a big, mean, volatile vampire who killed for pleasure.

Quite a difference between a father and his son.

"There's sandwiches in the fridge for his lunch. And he might fall asleep about one, he seems to do that a lot lately," Lily mom-talked to Stefan, smiling kindly, and handing Jamie over to him.

"Okay," Stefan smiled, delightedly. He seemed to be getting addicted to spending time with Jamie, getting to know him. And the little boy's scent was sweet and baby, it was a very nice smell.

"I've got to have lunch with my mom. She lives hours away, so driving might be a nightmare. I'll be back by around four though," Lily said to Stefan. She looked very resistant to spending time with her mom, it was obvious that they didn't get on at all well.

"Have fun!" she managed to force a happy smile for Stefan and her son, then she leaned forward to kiss Jamie's forehead. Stefan couldn't help but notice that she smelled beautiful as well as looked beautiful. Her mother must have high expectations of her for Lily to dress up so much.

"Bye, baby. Be good for your Uncle."

While Stefan happily smiled with satisfaction of being called an Uncle again- he didn't think that would ever go away- Jamie said he was always good, which Lily just laughed at.

"Bye," Lily smiled at Stefan and Jamie, then walked down the hall, waving at Jamie, who stuck out his little hand in goodbye.

Stefan found himself wishing that he had had a mother like Lily. He had never known his. Damon hated him because their mother died in childbirth with Stefan, but Stefan thought that he had it worst, in a way. At least Damon had _experienced_ a motherly figure, while Stefan was robbed of that chance, and raised in an all-male household.

Stefan didn't want that for Jamie. No doubt having no father would be just as painful as having no mother.

He hoped to God that Damon would see sense and just...talk to Jamie. Then he would be hooked on him, just like Stefan had been when he had first talked to Jamie.


	17. The Sock

Stefan held his nephew in his arms for a second after Lily had shut the front door behind her. Jamie's little head turned to look at him, and his chocolate brown eyes looked at Stefan's with obvious enjoyment.

"So, what do you want to do?" Stefan asked.

"I don't know, you pick," Jamie said happily, resting his head back on Stefan's shoulder.

"Movie?"

"Yay!" Jamie clapped his hands together.

Stefan made sure that the movie was suitable for Jamie's age before he placed it in the DVD player.

The next few hours were spent by games, DVD's, and talking. Stefan learned a lot about Jamie during those few hours. His nephews favorite food was strawberry ice cream. His favorite game was Monoply because it made him feel smart, and he loved to play with the little toy car contained in the box. Jack liked to glare at him, but Jamie said that Jack always gave him the best Christmas and birthday presents. And when his mother was out during the day and Jamie had a nightmare, Jack was always there for him.

Elena was still upstairs, but Stefan could hear that she was getting dressed. He was looking forward to seeing her- like he always was- but he was scared of what she would be like. Still upset? Happy? Or would her mood just vanish when she laid her eyes on Jamie again? Stefan loved Elena, she was his Queen, but for the first time ever- he thought she was being a little bit selfish. There was Jamie, who needed a father- and Elena, who was miffed that the father was a man that she was...in...love with. Stefan could barely manage to even think the words. It was so painful to know that Elena loved Damon. For a moment Stefan was full of anger for his older brother- purely because he was entrancing the girl that Stefan loved- but then he looked at Jamie, and his anger vanished. The little boy was wonderful- he was the only thing that Damon had ever done right.

And the only thing Stefan was proud of him for.

Around twelve thirty, like Lily had predicted- Jamie fell asleep. His head had been against Stefan's shoulder, and when Stefan looked down from the TV screen and at the boy- he saw that Jamie's eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply, indicating that he was asleep.

Stefan just looked at him for a second, and was once again struck by how much Jamie looked like his father. Stefan was still trying to get his head around the fact that Damon was a _father. _His brother was evil, dangerous, good-looking vampire that dressed in black all the time. It's hard to imagine a person like that as a father.

He gently laid Jamie down on the sofa- which was easy to do because his nephew was so tiny, and pulled the blanket that was on the edge of the sofa down to place it on the boy. Then Jamie, adorably, put his little thumb into his mouth and sucked it as he slept. He looked like a little baby.

**Damon's POV**

The car sped along the rubble of the abandoned town, and Damon looked out of the window- only for his eyes to be met by a blackened house. It looked like the entire town of Fell's Church had caught fire and left the town in debris.

Jack was driving the car. It was a Ferrari, like Damon's, but silver.

Then they drove up to the house that Damon recognized. It was the ruins of Elena's house. Only yesterday, Damon had been a free man without a care in the world. Then suddenly, he had a child and everyone was against him. Elena was heartbroken- which made Damon smirk to himself. So she _did_ care about him.

There was something different about the house though. Yesterday, the house had been dead- no energy coming out of it at all.

But today it _did_ have energy.

Lots.

Damon breathed in. Witches- the same species as Jack.

'Ah, one of your people did this, Jack," Damon smirked, but he held back the glare. Jack was very strong, and a broken hand would be a nuisance to him.

"And we need to track down that person, _Damon_," Jack snarled. Hmm, Jack wasn't fun nowadays.

"You boys used to have such fun together," Sam sighed.

"Then he knocked up my sister," Jack hissed, clenching his fist around the steering wheel. Damon watched the hand- it could fly out at anytime. "Jamie's useful," Sam said quietly.

"Useful for what? Eating all the strawberry ice cream?" Jack snorted, parking his precious car on the side of a blackened road.

The stench of Witch was there- and wow, was it there. Jack's race had been here, possibly lots of them- and they had been here recently.

Very recently.

**Stefan's POV**

Stefan watched Jamie as he slept- the little boy's thumb was still in his little mouth.

And then the peace was ruined when Jack clattered through the door, Damon following. The other man, Sam, was gone.

Jack walked over into the living room, and looked over the sofa at Jamie. Damon leaned against the wall, looking at Jamie.

"I told him not to suck his thumb," Jack said, and pulled the thumb out of Jamie's mouth.

Only for Jamie to put it back in his mouth.

"And he wonders why I call him a baby," Jack said, then thumped himself down on the opposite sofa.

"Did you find anything?" Stefan said, worried, looking from Damon to Jack.

"Yup. There was guts in a few of the houses, so some of the people have been killed," Jack said casually- as if he were announcing the weather.

Stefan worriedly glanced at Jamie- but his nephew was still blissfully sleeping. He was angry that Jack would talk about something like that in Jamie's presence. What if he had woken up?!

"He doesn't wake up for anything. Apart from this," Jack said, and before Stefan could do anything- he had taken off his shoe and placed his foot next to Jamie's noise.

Jamie coughed. Then started to cry.

Stefan wanted to kill Jack then. How dare he scare Jamie! And he had made him cry!

Stefan's face turned into a glare, and even Damon shifted a little by the wall. What did that mean? Was Damon getting used to Jamie?

But Stefan was too preoccupied to notice. He was too busy with his venom for Jack. Jamie had been sleeping, he shouldn't have woken him up!

"Oh, don't be such a baby, Jamie," Jack hissed, laughing a little.

The little boy was still crying, so- in his blanket- Stefan picked him up and cradled him in his arms on his lap. Jamie was soothed a little and his cries turned to snuffles in a few seconds.

"You shouldn't be sleeping now anyway. You'll never get to sleep tonight," Jack stared at Jamie.

"You're *hiccup* a big *hiccup* poopie, Jack *hiccup*," Jamie snuffled. Stefan had to smile down at him.

Yes, Jack was a big poopie.


	18. Sandwiches & Shockers

**Stefan's POV**

As Stefan held Jamie in his arms, he heard the sound of a footstep on the staircase. He tightened his arms around Jamie, breathing in his nephew's scent, and froze slightly. Was Elena going to ignore Jamie? Say mean things? Glare at Damon?

Stefan loved Elena, of course he did, but no _way_ was he going to allow Jamie to become upset by Elena. No way on _Earth_. Jamie was a little boy, Elena had no right to treat him unfairly, and Stefan was too protective to let that happen.

Footstep after footstep Elena came down the stairs- and when Stefan heard the soft step on the living room carpet, he looked up.

Elena looked beautiful, as always. Her long blonde hair shone against a pale pink shirt, with her blue jeans looking gorgeous against her waist.

Stefan looked at her warily, scared if Elena was going to do something drastic- like burst out crying or scream.

"What's wrong with him?" Elena asked, gesturing to Jamie. Stefan was pleased to see that she looked slightly concerned. Maybe she would give Jamie a chance?

"Jack woke him up," Stefan answered, looking back down at his nephew to check if he was okay. Jamie had stopped crying completely, but he sniffled every once in a while.

"Oh," Elena said. Then she noticed Damon lounging against the wall and she stiffened slightly, looking away.

An uncomfortable short silence followed.

"You look pretty," Jamie blinked at Elena adorably, snuffling. Stefan smiled- a little surprised. Jamie was polite and respected women- which was a strange thing to think, but the he obviously did. Some boys his age were rude and sometimes little-boy violent to them, but Jamie wasn't. Stefan was thankful once again that he had been raised right, and he reminded himself to thank Lily for doing such a good job with him.

Jack smirked. Damon kept glancing at Jamie- what was going on with him?

"Thank you," Elena said back to Jamie, surprised- possibly at Jamie's manners-, but she looked pleased nonetheless.

Stefan moved along the sofa a little so that Elena could sit down, still carrying Jamie. She walked over to the sofa and sat down next to him, ignoring Damon's stare as she did so.

Another awkward silence filled the room. Well, awkward on Stefan and Elena's part. Damon and Jack were too busy looking mean and menacing to notice. Jamie was fiddling with Stefan's jumper zip to notice either- he didn't seem to pick up on awkward social moments.

"Poopie," Jamie said randomly. Stefan was surprised, but then he realized that Jamie was glaring at Jack- who smirked evilly.

"Where's your mommy gone?" Elena asked Jamie. Stefan was very happy that she had asked the little boy directly; at least she was making an effort.

"She's gone to see grandma then see grandda," Jamie smiled happily at Elena- who smiled kindly. But then Jamie's smile faltered a little bit. "But she doesn't like them. They make her sad."

Stefan was worried while Elena and Damon looked slightly shocked by Jamie's words. Stefan was worried for Lily. She was the mother of his nephew, he wanted her to be happy- she was a lovely girl. And Jamie was picking up on these things?

"Who _would_ like them," Jack said, glaring at Jamie.

"Mom says they're mean people and she doesn't want me to know them too much," Jamie said, not noticing anything different in everyone's reactions.

Jamie snuggled closer into Stefan- who tightened his arms around him again, thinking.

Elena watched them, a little sadly, Stefan noticed. Was she thinking about Jamie and his grandparents? About Damon being Jamie's father? Or that the odds of her and Stefan conceiving children were slim?

Then something seemed to occur to her, and she laid her gaze on Jack.

"Did you find anything today?" she asked, hopefully. She must have overheard that Jack was going to investigate Fell's Church.

"Few guts and stuff, some people have been killed," Jack said, smirking evilly.

Elena's eyes widened, and tears formed in her eyes.

"They weren't near your house Elena, it couldn't have been your family," Stefan said comfortingly and quickly, stroking her arm. "Right?" He looked at Damon.

Damon turned a blank stare on him for a moment before answering.

"Yes."

Stefan sighed in relief.

"It's just…Margaret, Aunt Judith…and that house has been in my family for years Stefan! The Gilbert house," Elena put her hands into her hands for a second.

"Elena, sweetheart, they might not be gone. They might have moved," Stefan comforted her, moving over to her and putting an arm round her.

Elena leaned her head against his shoulder, crying now. Jamie reached up with his hand to pat her cheek. She smiled sadly at him. Stefan was glad that Jamie did that- it showed Elena that he was just a little boy, and wasn't his fault that he looked like Damon.

"How touching. Jamie, your mom's home," Jack said coldly, narrowing his eyes at the little boy.

Stefan wanted to shout at Jack. He _hated_ the way that he spoke to Jamie! And couldn't he see that Elena was upset?!

But Jack was right, Lily was back from her mother's early- it was only two in the afternoon. Stefan heard the slam of a car door closing, and footsteps as Lily walked to the house. The front door opened and Lily walked in, looking angry.

"Honestly, Jack, we should get a restraining order against her," she snapped out, but when she saw Jamie she managed a smile. Then her eyes widened.

"Oh, quite a crowd in here," she smiled as she put her coat up on the hanger then walking into the room. Lily stopped walking when she saw Elena's tears.

"What's wrong?" she asked, worried for Elena. Stefan admired her skill as a mother- she was kind even talking to _adults_.

"It's just…the town, and everything," Elena cried, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve.

"I know," Lily said sadly. "Everything will be sorted soon though, Elena. We'll find who did it."

Elena nodded, then smiled sadly back to Lily, looking a bit embarrassed by crying in front of people she didn't exactly know.

"Jamie, did you eat your lunch?"

Jamie blinked.

Oh, damn- Stefan thought. He'd forgotten about Jamie's lunch! He must be starving! Stefan felt bad- it made him feel like a terrible uncle.

"Don't worry," Lily laughed at Stefan's horrified expression. Jamie got out of Stefan's arms and walked toward his mother. It was a strange feeling to Stefan- his arms felt cold and empty without Jamie.

Jamie took his mother's outstretched hand and toddled into the kitchen after her. Stefan noticed that Jamie looked younger than his years- he barely looked five years old.

Stefan stroked Elena's hair with his right-hand, and kissed her cheek. She seemed to be comforted by it, and leaned closer to him.

And then Bonnie burst through the door, which didn't seem too strange to Stefan. Pretty soon after Lily's goodbyes, she had told Stefan that she was going to have a look around the town, then have lunch with the Miranda girl she had met the day before. Bonnie was probably excited to be knowing so many witches.

Then he noticed….

_She was covered in blood. _


	19. Strawberry Blood

**Stefan's POV**

"Bonnie!" Elena screeched, looking more fearful for her friend than Stefan had ever seen her. She ran to where Bonnie was, shaking and sobbing in fear.

Damon looked as if a jolt of electricity went through his body- he was stanced like a predator. His fangs were out- possibly due to the smell of blood- and Stefan saw that his brother's hands were in fists, threatening any foe that they were involved with now.

Stefan jumped up so fast that the blanket Jamie had left flew across the room. He was extremely fearful for Bonnie's life, and Jamie was only in the next room!

Lily burst through the kitchen door, managing to shut it behind her. She ran down to where Bonnie stood breathing heavily- blood covering her middle.

"I smelled the blood, what on earth happened?!" Lily asked, concerned and panicked for Bonnie.

"It was horrible," Bonnie whimpered. Stefan hurried up beside her and took her hand in his. His face was contorted with worry- he couldn't even contemplate the thought of Bonnie dying- she was like a younger sister to him, and one of his closest friends.

"What happened Bonnie?! Please don't die, I couldn't bear it if-" Elena sobbed, her voice cutting off at the end as she stared at her blood-soaked best friend.

"What? You think I'm dying? The blood's not mine, Elena. It's Miranda's." Bonnie burst into terrified tears. She reached out with her hands and clasped Elena's- petrified beyond belief.

"What?" Lily looked so alarmed and scared that Jack walked silently over from the living room to stand beside his sister- but he didn't do anything. He watched Bonnie with narrowed eyes.

"This- this _thing_ just attacked us when we were having lunch. It came down from the sky and- and it- just _jumped_ on us!" Bonnie cried. "I couldn't do anything! It just came down! A few people came into the house and told me to come back here and tell you guys."

"When you last saw her, was she bleeding or...?" Lily asked slowly, and Stefan's ultimate surprise- she looked suspicious. Shouldn't she be more worried about her friend's health instead of being suspicious?

Or was there something more to this that Stefan couldn't find?

"No, it had stopped," Bonnie sniffed, her brow furrowed in confusion over Lily's suspicious attitude.

"Oh, thank _god_," Lily sighed in relief- her head tilting back and slosing her eyes for a second, her hand going over her heart.

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked shakily- because she _was _shaking.

"Miranda has this sort of...skill: she heals quickly. I was worried that this- this thing that attacked you was poisonous, but if she managed to slose up the wound then it couldn't have been poison," Lily explained.

"So she's- she's still alive?" Bonnie sniffed, relief and disbelief crossing her features.

"Yep," Lily said- but then her expression changed from relieved to worry in a second. "Come and sit down, Bonnie, you look like you're in shock."

Bonnie nodded slightly, still shaking like a leaf, and allowed herself to be taken by the arm by Lily to the sofa. She sat down silently- most eyes were still on her, but less panicked now. Jack was now on the phone to someone, talking in a low voice- but Stefan, through his panic over Bonnie, didn't think that it was for Bonnie that he was being quiet for. He must be talking about something that he didn't want anyone else to know.

"I'll go make you some tea," Lily said, letting go of Bonnie's arm and walking back to the kitchen- where Jamie was.

Elena sat herself down beside her best friend, and watched her carefully- sniffing. It had been a horrid shock for her, Stefan knew, to see Bonnie like that- to even contemplate her friend dying was heartbreaking for her. Dry tears were stained on Elena's face, but Bonnie was still crying slightly- but it was ceasing.

Stefan felt a bit helpless- sure Bonnie was like a sister to him, but like any man, Vampire or not, he got slightly uncomfortable by women crying. The only woman he had ever comforted successfully had been Elena- and he _knew_ how to comfort her when she was upset now. Crying children had been a problem for him too, but Jamie seemed to be different. Maybe because they were related it was easier for him to comfort a sobbing Jamie.

Damon was watching Jack now- his well tuned hearing obviously trying to listen in. But Jack was speaking so quietly that even a _Vampire _had trouble hearing. So the other person on the line must be a Vampire too- otherwise nobody would be able to hear him.

Jack seemed to realize that the other two men in the room were being snoopy, and he turned around to glare and growl at them.

"Don't you have nail-painting to be getting on with?"

Damon just rolled his eyes, while Stefan looked back to Bonnie and Elena.

Jack snorted, then said goodbye to the person he was talking to on the phone. He glared at Damon again before sauntering down the hall into the kitchen.

Lily came out a minute later, clasping a mug of tea in her hand.

"I had to put sugar in your tea, I don't know if you like it, but it's the best way to deal with shock. And not going drinking, like Jack might say," she said, walking toward Bonnie and handing her the mug.

"Thank you," Bonnie managed a tiny smile, then she sipped the tea. As soon as the sugar hit her system, Stefan noticed a bit of colour coming back to her cheeks.

Then her face paled again, and she looked up at Lily with alarm and worry.

"Did Jamie see me? Or smell the blood? I'm so sorry! I don't want him to be scared!" Bonnie said, speaking in such a rush it was hard to relax.

"Relax, relax," Lily gave her a little kind laugh. "He's eating strawberry ice cream, he won't be out of there in hours. I doubt he even heard you coming through the door. And Jack's with him now." Lily sat down on the couch next to Bonnie and Elena.

That made Stefan scared. Jack. Alone with Jamie.

"Erm, I feel a bit better now. Is it okay if I go upstairs and change?" Bonnie asked, placing her tea onto the table in front of her.

"Do you really need to ask?" Lily smiled.

Bonnie smiled back- and went up the stairs to her room. Stefan was glad that everyone was warming to the mother of his nephew, it meant a lot to him.

The kitchen door burst open- and Jack came out, pushing a shaking Jamie in front of him as he walked into the living room.

Stefan nearly punched Jack in the face when he saw the state of his nephew.

"_Somebody _had too much strawberry ice cream," Jack snapped.

"I was fine," Jamie protested.

"Jamie! You're shaking," Lily said worriedly, stroking her son's hair. She lifted Jamie up and placed him in her lap.

"Mmmhmmm," Jamie groaned, but he nestled into his mother's hair.

Stefan watched his nephew. It saddened him that he himself had never had a mother like that- but he was so pleased that Jamie did. The little boy deserved the best- and Lily was a wonderful mother.

But Damon...why couldn't he step up and_ be_ something to Jamie? He needed proper parents!

"Er, I've got something to tell you," Lily said hesitantly, looking up from Jamie to everyone else in the room.


	20. Snuffles & Snuggles

**Stefan's POV**

"What is it?" Stefan asked, worried. Jamie snuggled down more into his mother, his little hands tangling in her hair. It was obvious to Stefan that Jamie was very close to his mother, and he was so glad- but Lily's words scared him. It didn't sound good, whatever it was. Had one of Elena's family members been killed? Stefan thought of little Margaret with her sweet young smile, and he shuddered in fear.

"Uh, well," Lily began, but before she went any further, she looked down at Jamie for a second. He smiled chirpily at her- making Stefan and Lily laugh. Then his mother put one hand on each of Jamie's ears and he squealed in surprise. Lily kissed his forehead quickly before looking back up to the others.

"They've identified the people that were found in the town yesterday," Lily looked at Elena sadly.

Silence fell in the living room, and Stefan worried about Elena.

She had gone pale, and he saw her gulp.

"Do you know if any children were among the dead?" she choked out, eyes on Lily, desperately hoping that she would say no.

"I think- I think that one of them was a child," Lily said. Stefan saw a look of disgust cross her features- and he knew she was thinking about how on _earth_ someone could kill a defenseless child. Lily's arms tightened around Jamie- Stefan understood. "Why? Did you have any child relatives?"

Elena burst into new tears.

"My little sister, Margaret. She's only four," she cried.

"Oh dear!" Lily shuffled over to Elena and lay a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Elena, it might not be her. The body is away from your house!" Stefan comforted, sitting in the seat next to her and brushing her hair away from her face.

"I hope so. But Stefan, it's a_ child._ It's _disgusting_! How can someone kill a child?!" Elena sobbed, leaning her head onto Stefan's shoulder.

Stefan felt so helpless- there was nothing he could do to comfort his fiance but tell her that it may not be Margaret.

"They've found some possessions of theirs- the people that were killed. If it's okay, you might take a look at it?" Lily asked, hesitantly.

"Yeah," Elena sniffed.

Bonnie came down the stairs- dressed in a new shirt and jeans. Jack had been lounging against the post at the bottom of the stairs, and he looked up as she came down. As soon as she saw him, her eyes widened in fear and awkwardness. Stefan knew that being around strong, powerful Vampires was hard for Bonnie, because she was still getting used to her new powers. But Jack was the evilest of the evil, and he scared her to pieces.

Jack smirked up at her.

"All bloodless now, are we?" he asked innocently, but Stefan could still detect the coldness in his voice. It seemed like he had it all the time. Bonnie jump in fear- Jack's statement had a different meaning, a Vampire one, and it scared her spitless.

"Jack," Lily said, looking at him sternly.

Bonnie walked over to her, and Stefan could see that she was self-conscious of Jack's stare on the back of her. But when she saw Elena's tears, her eyes widened and she scurried over faster to take hold of Elena's arm.

"Elena, what's happened?!" She perched herself on the arm of the sofa.

"They've identified the bodies they found yesterday, one of them could be Margaret," Elena croaked out. Stefan wrapped his arm tighter around her, finding nothing to say that could help her. It might not be Margaret- he told himself.

But there weren't many children as young as that in Fells Church.

Damon, who up till that point had been leaning against the wall with an absent look on his face- now looked at Elena, focused on her.

"I hate to say it, but my brother may be right. The chances are that all the families have been moved and those killed would be the ones that fought," he said.

"True," Stefan said. "And your Aunt wouldn't fight with them when she knew that Margaret's life would be at risk, Elena."

"Yeah, I suppose so," Elena sniffed again, and then looked at Lily with a defeated and scared look on her face.

"Can I see who they were?" she asked.

"Are you sure, Elena? You knew these people, it might be a rather sad thing for you to do," Lily looked at her sadly.

"I want to know."

Lily sighed softly, then picked Jamie off of her lap and placed him on the ground. He started to play with a few toy cars that were hidden underneath the coffee table.

"Jack. Kitchen," Lily ordered, turning to go down the hall.

Jack sighed angrily, and hit his sister's head as they walked down to the kitchen. It was obvious to Stefan that Jack didn't like to be ordered about- well, obviously- but part of him listened to his sister, however small that part might be.

The kitchen door shut and the living room plunged back into silence. Damon glared at Stefan for no apparent reason, he seemed to just like doing it, and Bonnie was comforting a now snuffling Elena. Stefan just stood, feeling helpless, wondering who the dead people could be.

All while Jamie played with his little toy cars.

Lily walked back into the room, and shot an immediate sad look at Elena.

"They're keeping all of their belongings in a house in the middle of the town. The...bodies, are in the morgue," Lily hesitantly said- possibly half-due to Jamie still being in the room. But he wasn't even listening, his toy cars were occupying the little boy's thoughts too much.

"You have a morgue?" Stefan asked in shock. He _really_ didn't want Jamie to be raised in an environment that had it's own _morgue!_

"Oh no, it's more like a basement. But if we call it a basement it doesn't sound very...well, respectful," Lily told him, then she turned her attention back to Elena.

"I could take you if you want?"

"Erm, yes, thank you," Elena smiled sadly at Lily. Stefan was glad that she was getting used to Jamie and Lily, it meant a lot to him.

"We'd best be going then."

"What about Jamie?"

"Jack's still here, he's in the garden talking to...someone." Lily's expression hardened. Was Jack talking to their mother? Stefan_ hated_ the fact that Jamie's grandmother didn't like her children, and he_ did not_ want his nephew near them.

Elena stood up, and after kissing Stefan goodbye, walked outside. Lily picked up her car keys and gave Jamie a big smooch on the cheek, to which he replied 'wwwmm'- then said goodbye to Stefan and Bonnie, glared at Damon, then left after Elena.

"Whose Morgue?" Jamie asked, adorably looking up at Stefan with a quizzical look on his face.

**Once again, please review and thanks for reading! :-D**


	21. Hope & Regret

**Elena's POV**

Lily drove carefully, which surprised Elena- but that was probably because she had gotten used to Damon's suicide speeding. And Lily was a mom, she had to be careful all the time, not wanting to scare her child.

_Damon's _child- Elena's mind threw at her cruelly.

Why does it bother me so much?- Elena thought. It's not as if I'm in love with him, I love Stefan. I don't love Damon... do I? No, she quickly thought. But she cared about him, yeah, that was it.

"So, how are you? We haven't really had a chance to talk," Lily said to her as she rounded a corner. She smiled at her.

Elena gave a tiny smile back- but she was slightly surprised at how Lily seemed to be so nice all the time. Well, she's a mother. But even Elena herself knew that she'd been a complete bitch when they had first met.

"I'm okay," Elena sighed.

"Ooh, that bad, huh?"

There was no getting past another girl with the Damon issue, was there?- Elena thought bitterly.

"I- I'm not in_ love _with him," Elena protested, slightly angrily. Lily was making assumptions too quickly!

"Oh, I know that. I just want to know why you're so upset whenever you see my son," Lily said, but she wasn't angry, like Elena had expected her to be. In fact, she sounded... pitying?

Elena was silent. She didn't want to talk about Damon, but she couldn't deny that she cared for him and everyone will have probably noticed by now. Stefan did. Her heart swelled at the thought of him- he must be heartbroken! My Stefan... but it's not as if I'm in love with Damon!- she thought. I just... care about him, that's all. But should I tell Lily that? No, I can't, it's my secret!

But then when Elena looked at Lily, her common sense kicked in. Lily had a right to know why Elena was being awkward around Jamie, and in addition- Damon was his father. It would be completely unfair to keep it from here.

"I'm not in love with him. I just..." Elena couldn't find the words to finish her explanation. "I just care about him... more than I thought I did,anyway," she said, looking out of the car window and trying to find a distraction. Margaret's face came to her mind, then Aunt Judith's and Robert's. Oh god- Elena fought back tears, not wanting to cry in front of Lily, however nice the girl was. _They could be dead_- Elena's mind threw at her cruelly, _all of them could be dead_. Margaret, little Margaret. She was just a baby! And Aunt Judith... she had taken both Elena and the baby Margaret in when their parents died, not knowing how hard the years to come would be. Robert too, he was a good man- and Margaret saw him as an Uncle, if not a temporary father figure.

Jamie reminded her slightly of Margaret, they were around the same age. Elena leaned her head against the window- thinking about the boy. They were both sweet, loveable, and undeniably _adorable_- and they would get on so well together if they would meet. Stefan would like that- and maybe they would play games together and laugh, play and... be children. Like the way Bonnie and Elena had been when _they_ were children. Maybe they would become a miniature Stefan and Elena and fall in love- Elena nearly gave a sad laugh at that thought. Perhaps Stefan would want for Jamie to learn about his Italian heritage, and return to Florence to see where he and his brother had been born. Margaret would like that... it would be like a little holiday for her.

Maybe they _would_ meet, someday. But Elena knew that although Margaret knew that she was still alive, the risk of the town finding out would be horrid. But maybe...someday?

Jamie needed to be comfortable around everyone, because kids need stability- but he wasn't getting it from Elena.

"I'll make an effort around Jamie, I promise. He's a good boy."

"Thank you. And I really appreciate that. Jamie's a very perceptive boy, he picks up on these things- he'll think it's his fault if you avoid him," Lily said, stopping the car and smiling sadly at her.

Elena gasped. Jamie had already picked up on it? And thought it was his fault? Oh _god_! Elena may have to take a while to get used to the boy, but she_ hated_ the thought of him being hurt over her! He was just a _boy_! _Damon's_ little boy, but still...

"Oh god! I'm so sorry! I'll tell him when we get back to the house that I've been...er..."

"Don't worry! He's been too preoccupied with Stefan being his Uncle to notice anything wrong," Lily said comfortingly to her.

The car had stopped- Elena noticed, surprised. Then the realization hit her:

Her family.

Oh god- she thought as Lily stepped out of the car. This is it. Little Margaret could be dead...Elena nearly burst into tears at the thought of her little sister being so scared. She felt entirely responsible- if they hadn't gone away then their lives could have been spared.

Or maybe Elena, Bonnie, Damon, and Stefan would have all died with them.

Elena couldn't stop praying as she stepped numbly out of the car. Margaret... little Margaret...

Oh god- she thought do this as she looked at Lily shakily- I can't do this.

"I can't do it. I can't go in there, I just can't," she croaked out.

Lily's pretty face turned sympathetic as she put a hand on Elena's arm.

"Elena, you don't need to see them. To be honest, I have a feeling that it's not them. You just need to take a look at their belongings. But if you don't want to, you don't have to," Lily said soothingly.

Elena took a deep breath. She had left Margaret when she had needed her the most- she wasn't going to do the same again. Somehow, it would be like letting Margaret down again if she were to leave now.

_I have to do this._

Elena looked at Lily determinedly, but shaking like a leaf.

"I'll do it."

Lily nodded encouragingly, then squeezed Elena's arm for comfort before leading her into the house which that car had stopped in front of.

Hopefully it wouldn't be them...Elena didn't know how she'd cope if it were...


	22. Worry Part 1

**I'm so sorry for the lateness of this chapter! I hope you've not lost all interest in the story now! I had many exams (and exam stress) and also I hit a major writer's block with this. I found it mean to have this on my laptop and not upload it, cause this is part of the chapter. **

**So I'll upload this now as Part 1 of Chapter 22. I PROMISE that Part 2 won't take long!**

**Stefan's POV**

He waited anxiously at home, even the calming presence of Jamie not helping him too much. While the little boy played happily with Bonnie, Stefan's hands tapped nervously against his knees. Jack had disappeared into the kitchen, and Damon had announced that he was going out before leaving around a half hour ago.

Jamie played with his toy cars, Bonnie laughing at him when he ran one up the bridge of her nose, and Stefan watched them, hoping to God that Elena would have this with Margaret again one day. If his soon to be sister-in-law really was dead, it would kill Elena, and he knew it. He stared down at his knees, eyes closed in concern for his beloved.

"What's wrong?" a baby voice asked, having serious trouble with pronouncing the r's, coming out as a 'w' sound.

Stefan opened his eyes, and Jamie's huge brown ones were looking into his, innocence in them. He noticed just how tiny Jamie was- very.

He managed a small smile for his little nephew through his worry over Elena.

"Nothing's wrong, Jamie, I'm just being silly."

"Jack's silly too," Jamie said, tilting his head up and frowning adorably.

"Oh, am I, now?"

Jack's voice was cold as he walked into the living room, coolly looking at Jamie. But his nephew wasn't at all scared- as Bonnie was so obviously trying to hide as she held Jamie's toy car in her hand- and he scowled adorably in Jack's direction.

"Yes, you're a big poopie," Jamie stared at his Uncle, a small smirk on his lips.

**Uploading Part 2 soon! And sorry again! Xx**


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